The 31st Annual Hunger Games
by Taylor1103
Summary: Last year proved to be one of the most exciting Hunger Games yet, with a finale that Panem will be talking about for years. Now, with a whole new set of tributes determined to prove themselves worthy of being the Victor of the 31st Annual Hunger Games, the Gamemakers wants to make sure the tributes know rebellion will not be handled lightly. (Sequel to 30th Annual Hunger Games)
1. Chapter 1 - Victory Tour

**Author Note: This is a sequel to my last fan fiction. If you haven't read it **_**30th Annual Hunger Games **_**you might be a little confused with some of the comments made by characters in this story. However it won't affect the overall plot if you haven't read it. There will be some familiar faces from my last story as well! I hope you enjoy this story! Comments are welcome. Good or bad, any type of review is good. Thank you and enjoy!**

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**Victory Tour**

**Girly Matlock POV**

It's like the whole district is being controlled to move, no one goes willingly to the town square for the Victory Tour. All around me people shuffle their feet, hang their heads, avoid eye contact, and talk in hushed whispers. Every year District 12 becomes more and more discouraged, we realize that we will never have a Victor. It's impossible. Us children are too small and too weak to fight. Most of us are skin and bones, and the select few that are a good almost healthy weight never get reaped because they never have to take out tessera.

Once we make it to the square for the tour everyone falls silent. It doesn't take long for the buzzer to sound, telling us it's almost time for the Victor to arrive. Peacekeepers stand around the perimeter, I straighten my posture as one makes eye contact with me. I recognize him, and he recognizes me. I break our eye contact and look straight ahead. District 5's escort makes her way onto the stage. All around me people clap, I join in. The crew that helped style the tribute follow behind the escort. The crowd claps again, and a few people let out cheers. I don't, I'll save my breathe for the Victor, he's crew did nothing important.

Lex Grovenstin walks onto the stage. I let out a half-hearted cheer and raise my hands high as I clap. Lex smiles down at us and waves his left hand. I realize he's right hand still isn't fixed, which is weird. I figured as soon as he was taken back to the Capitol they would fix his hand for him, giving him a fully functional prosthetic hand.

He says, "Thank you for being here today!" Like we have a choice, I considered skipping the tour, but if the peacekeepers found me anywhere but the square at this time I'd be executed without hesitation. Lex continues his speech, "I've never been to District 12 before, the mountains are amazing! You are all very lucky to live here!" Lies, they are lies, every year the Victor tells everyone in every district how lucky they are to live there. They never believe it. They know what it's like to live in these Districts, they know it's horrible and disgusting.

"Many of you are probably wondering how I, a skinny, disabled, fifteen year old with no survival skills, managed to win the 30th Annual Hunger Games." No, no we aren't wondering, we all know what happened, we all were forced to watch. It was exciting, it was new and brave, it was actually a very spectacular ending. But it cost more lives than necessary. We were all forced to watch as the mother of Topanga, the Princess, was executed. Lex is the winner among rebels, and that is not good for any of Panem.

"Many people think The Hunger Games is about physical strength, and I do agree that plays a big part in the games, but a Victor has to be smart, well educated, and dedicated. So don't think that because you here in District 12 are small that you cannot win. Because you can!" The crowd really is cheering now. I clapped along, but I wasn't going to cheer. The speech was weak. He didn't win because he was smart, he won because he got lucky and two other tributes died for him. There is no chance of that ever happening again in the games. Not with the President threatening to slaughter anyone who knows rebels. No tribute in their right mind will dare show a sign of rebellion if it cost their family and friends lives. Lex waves as he is ushered off the stage. The crowd claps and cheers. I start making my way through the crowd, farther to the back of the crowd. I keep my eyes open for any Peacekeepers that may see me attempting to sneak away. But they are focused on Lex Grovenstin as he makes one last final bow before being pulled into our justice building.

**Kyler Theodore POV**

Districts 12 and 11 soaked up Lex Grovenstin's speech about being smart. The kid actually claims that he won do to how smart he is. There is no way in hell he would have won if The Princess and The Human Chameleon hadn't done what they did for him. It was a shock to see that happen. I know if I was living in the Capitol at the time the final five was determined my money would have been on either the Princess or Stiles Spiller. As soon as Stiles was killed I swore up and down the Princess would be our Victor. She would definitely be a Victor the Capitol loved, with her insanely red orange hair, thin figure, thin lips, and bright eyes. She was fearless, strong, determined, a little catty. They would have put her on display for the rest of her life.

And that's why she did it. That's why she put all her instincts aside, forgot all about doing anything she could to survive, and jumped head first into her own death. But I can tell now, as I stand in the crowd and watch Lex make his speech, that to the Princess this would be a punishment worse than death for her. To stand in front of every district and tell them how honored she is to be their victor and how great it is to be the Capitols own personal puppet. She would hate it, she would struggle every single day of her life to lie over and over about how happy she is.

Lex is doing that now, and I can tell that everything he is saying is lies, a scrip the President probably gave him. Underneath his smile, he's waves, and he's bows; he's crying inside, he's miserable and he wishes he was dead. He was doing a good job at making us believe he was happy, and he won the games on his own, but as he looks over at the families of the fallen tributes, he can't keep the sadness hidden from his face.

**Lex Grovenstin POV**

It seems to take forever to get to District 6. Lila keeps fixing my suit and my hair. Every now and then she reminds me to smile and stay positive. All of those kids I've seen out there today, I've been telling them to stay brave. But in six months two of those kids in each crowd will be entering the arena.

And now I'm to District 6, Zila's District. Her picture will be up on display. That's been the worst part of this tour, seeing the faces of the kids again, I didn't even know their names, but it still hurt to see them. Now I have to see Zila's picture. She was my friend, and she died for me.

The doors open and I step outside onto the stage. District 6 is gloomy, much like my home district. There are concrete buildings, overcast skies, and sickly looking people.

I swallow back the lump in my throat as I see Zila's picture up on the screen. I look over at the boy's picture. Phillip, I believe his name was. He has a family. I assume they are his Mom, Dad, and two brothers. Zila has no one under her picture, not even the girls from her group home. I wonder if the President hadn't ordered for rebels families to be executed if someone would have been brave enough to stand under her picture.

**Gabriella Dutch POV**

My siblings run around making sure they have everything. I stop Becka and fix the small bow she has in her hair. She doesn't even say thank you before running off to find her shoes. I turn to look at Tilly, she quietly eats her buttered toast in all the chaos. I smile at the little 4 year old girl. Her hair is the same color as her sister's. Her eyes are slightly darker, matching her mother's. I sit down beside her.

"Do you remember the tour from last year, Tilly?" I ask her. She nods her head. "Did you like it?" She nods again as she pulls some of the blackened crush off the toast. "What did you like about it?"

"I like the food!" My brother Zeke blurts out as he sits down across from Tilly and me. "It's the one time of year the merchants give out stuff for free! It's great!"

"I wasn't asking you!" I snap at my brother, he frowns at me, but only for a second. Becka rushes in and pulls him out of the room, saying something about not being able to reach her shoes under her bed. I roll my eyes and turn back to Tilly.

"Tilly." I say in a light voice, she looks at me with her big round eyes, but says nothing. Ever since her mother was publicly executed the poor little girl hasn't said a word. She sat in a group home for a month, and I begged Mom and Dad over and over to adopt her. I couldn't watch my best friends sister grow up in a group home. Not after everything she's been through. She still doesn't know the truth about Topanga, and she doesn't understand why her mother was taken from her either.

I pick Tilly up and take her to our room. Being the oldest I use to get the small bedroom to myself, but now I share with Tilly. I don't mind though. I find her little peach colored dress and slip it onto her. Then I fix her hair so that it curls around her small round face. I quickly dress myself, the take Tilly back into the kitchen. Dad, Mom, Becka, and Zeke look ready to go, only one of the seven members of the house is missing. Dad checks his watch and taps his foot. Trudy is always running late. A couple minutes later she burst out of the washroom, apologizing and making excusing about how her hair would not stay in the braid.

We make our way to our normal spot for the tour. The small market area is already busy, in about fifteen minutes Lex Grovenstin will be making his way through our District. I hug Tilly tightly, thinking about how it should be her sister, not this boy.

Zeke rushes off to get oranges for us, a treat we only get on tour day. He makes it back just as the escort from District 5 makes her way onto the stage. People cheer, ready to see the young tribute. District 5's escort holds her hands high and the crowd falls silent.

"I am so very pleased to present to you all, the Victor of the 30th Annual Hunger Games, Lex Grovenstin!" The crowd cheers again. But I don't. I hold Tilly, as she is my excuse not to clap. Lex makes his way onto the stage. Everyone claps and cheers. Lex smiles, just like he did at all the other districts. But at every district his smile looked more pained. And every time I watched him on TV making his speech I wanted him to apologize for what happened to the other tributes. He needs to apologize that my best friend died for him. I set Tilly down and she leans up against my legs. I hold onto her outstretched hand. Anger bowling up in me as Lex makes his speech. I bite my tongue so I don't scream out at him. As he exits and heads back into the Justice Building I let out a cheer, good riddance, he's gone!

**Russell Mossburg POV**

A big feast waits for all of District 5. I round up my younger siblings, they don't really understand what's going on yet. I tried to explain that this year the Victor Tour will be better than the previous ones, because this year we get all the food we want. Ulysses runs up and jumps into my arms. He's such a tiny little guy, only six years old.

"Will there be the fancy food they eat at the Capitol?" He asks me.

"Of course!" I beam, "All sorts of food! Cakes! Pies! Cookies!"

"Cookies!?" Gigi shouts. I smile at her. "Can I wear my reaping dress? The pink one!?"

"Yes! We need to look as nice as we can!"

An hour later all eight members of my family head toward the town square. I've never seen the town so happy and cheerful. Tonight we feast! I hold Ulysses on my shoulders so he can see over the crowd. Tables have been set out for everyone, and my family looks for a table large enough for us all to sit at.

We find a table just moments before our escort, Lila, walks onto the stage.

"Welcome! Welcome! Please put your hands together in honor of District 5's very first Victor, Lex Grovestin!" We clap and cheer, Grandpa grips my shoulder, I look up at him and he grins at me. Lex gives his speech, and we all listen. He talks about how honored he is to have the privilege to be a mentor to future tributes, and that he will do everything in his power to make sure District 5 has more victors in the future.

We clap and cheer. Because now our District has more of a chance than we've ever had. Everyone gathers around to eat. It's more food than I've ever seen. My little sister Joyce laughs as I toss a little piece of food at her mouth, it bounces off her chin. Mama doesn't even fuss at us.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Reaping

**Author Note: I forgot to put it on chapter one, so I'll put it here: _(Obviously) I do not own The Hunger Games._ I hope you like this chapter, hopefully it isn't too boring. Sometimes Reapings are, it's hard to make them different and exciting. But I tried to add something interesting to each one. Please read and review! Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks! **

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**The Reaping**

**District 3 Reaping**

**Gabriella Dutch POV**

Oh god. Today is reaping day. I look over at Tilly, red orange rays spill through the small window and lay over her small body. Taking in this little girl means I had to take out extra Tessera. But I don't care. Tilly needs a real family, not a group home family. I sit up slowly and head outside to the small wash house. We share the wash house with our neighbors, and a couple of the Elliot children where already out there waiting to wash up.

"Isn't it too early for you kids to be up?" I ask them, tousling Cass Elliot's hair. They laugh and Kurk chimes in. I've always hated Kurk.

"Not too early at all. I think you are up rather late there Gabs."

"My name isn't Gabs." I snap. "It's not late, it's just now sunrise."

"Just because your family is lazy doesn't mean all families are Gabs. If you are wondering why we are at the wash house early it's because we've already been up cleaning the shop."

The Elliot family owns the fabric shop. On Reaping day Mrs. Elliot will hem up any of the children's reaping clothes for free. It's actually really nice of her to do. Thread and fabric isn't cheap.

"Don't call me Gabs." I say, I sit down on the ground to wait my turn. Zeke joins the crowd, he and Kurk are best of friends, they instantly start chatting and goofing around, tossing dirt on to each other and calling each other bad names. The little kids laugh. I guess that's a way to brighten everyone's spirits on reaping day.

Soon the Elliot children dwindle away and just me and my siblings are left. I let Becka shower off first, she started rambling about not being able to get her dress fixed if she didn't get washed up soon.

It's about an hour after I originally planned on washing up when I finally get my turn. I have to wash quickly, because I have to take my dress over to Mrs. Elliot. I've grown three inches since I last got the dressed extended, and now I'm taller than mom, so all of the dresses in the house are too short for proper reaping attire.

I change into my dress and walk over to the Elliots' shop. There are three other children there as well. One little girl is crying because she tore her new dress this morning. She's such a little girl, smaller than most children her age. I can't imagine her standing up on that stage. Let's hope her name is only in the bowl a couple times.

Mrs. Elliot is her normal calm self as she goes around fixing the dresses for us girls. When she reaches me I give her some money for my dress and for my sister's.

"No charge, dear." She says, refusing my money.

"Take it Mrs. Elliot. We are neighbors. Every year you fix up our clothes and we give you nothing for it. I know you have to pay for the thread and lace with your own money. Let me pay you for it." But she still ignores my offer as she adds white flowery lace to the bottom of my dress to make it look longer.

She finishes up quickly, I leave some money sitting on her chair and leave before she can give it back. Everyone at home is ready to go to the reaping. I pick Tilly up and carry her all the way to the square. Once we get there I look around at my family.

Becka is twelve this year, her first reaping. Trudy fourteen, and beautiful like always. Zeke is fifteen, and even though he is scared to death, he doesn't show it. Then me, at seventeen I'm the oldest, I'm supposed to be the one to hold it all together. But I can't, exactly one year ago today my best friend Topanga was reaped in this very square, not long after her mother was executed. The Victory tour made it worse, Lex thinks he actually won the game on his own. And now, now I have to stand here and hope someone else I love doesn't get picked.

We all go our separate ways and stand in the section for our spots. Our escort, Gloria, comes onto the stage. Blue, this year she is all blue. What is the point of that?

"Welcome!" She chimes. I ignore her, I ignore the video and the mentors, I ignore how happy she seems. "Now, time for our female tribute!" She reaches over for the bowl, and after digging around for a second she plucks a piece and opens it. "Gabriella Dutch!" She chimes.

She has to be joking. She has to be! From the twelve year old section I hear Becka yell "no." I walk into the aisle and look for my siblings. I spot Zeke, who his shaking his head, like he refuses to believe what is happening. I walk onto the stage and stand next to Gloria.

"Gabriella Dutch. I know that name." She says. I refuse to look at her. Last year after the games I got into some trouble with some Peacekeepers, it was broadcast for all of Panem to see. "Well, let's move on to the males, shall we!" She chimes. She steps over to the males bowl and reaches inside, she doesn't hesitate and picks the first piece of paper her fingers touch.

"Kurk Elliot!" Kurk Elliot, of all the boys in District 3 she picks Kurk. He walks onto stage and stand next to me. "Ladies and Gentlemen, our two tributes! Gabriella Dutch and Kurk Elliot!"

**District Five Reaping**

**Russell Mossburg POV**

My large family slowly walks toward the square. The Victor tour seems like it just ended, but really it was six months ago. We had been so happy. But now we are all terrified. Grandpa holds my shoulder, guiding me toward the square. I hold Ulysses in my arms. He always feels the safest there, I'll never understand why. I glace behind us to see Dad holding GiGi's hand and Mom holding Joyce's hand. Behind them Ethan skulks. He's fourteen, he says he's too old to walk with his parents. But I know he's terrified and would love the comfort.

Right before we get our fingers pricked I give him a quick hug. He pushes me away, annoyed. But I can see a slight smile as he is happy for the comfort. I turn from him and a Peacekeeper pricks my finger. I start to walk toward the seventeen year old section, I glace behind me to make sure my siblings make it through the check-in line alright.

Not soon after the Justice Building doors open and the Mayor takes his seat, following him is our only Victor, Lex. He looks uneasy as he takes a seat on the opposite side of the door from the Mayor. He looks different, and it takes me a minute to realize he has a right hand. He fidgets and keeps crossing and uncrossing his arms, unsure what to do with himself as the crowd stares at him.

Finally Lila steps onto the stage. She is blue and silver this year. She beams down at us all, her long silver eyelashes catching in the sunlight.

"Welcome, Distirct 5! I am very honored to be with you this year! First, I'm going to introduce our new mentor, Lex Grovenstin!" Lex stands as he hears his name. For a second his left hand reaches up a few inches, then he drops it and waves with is new right hand. No one claps, no one is in the mood.

Lila clears her throat and continues with her speech, "Now, time for the video!" The video starts up, and I watch it. It's the same thing each year, but it's our history, it's why we are standing here now. The video ends and Lila clears her throat again. "Now! Time to pick our female tribute!" Her heals click as she walks across the concrete stage. She reaches into the bowl and picks the name right in the center on the top. "Carlyn Black." The name echoes around the square. No one moves, no one says anything. It's too quiet. "Carlyn, honey, come on up." Lila says encouragingly. Peacekeepers start to walk up the aisle.

Please walk up on the stage. Whoever you are make it easier on yourself and walk onto the stage. There is a scuffle over in the twelve year old section. Finally a little brown haired girl steps out. Peacekeepers step up beside her to make sure she will go onto the stage. When she reaches the top of the stairs I can see that she is trembling badly.

"Now for the male!" Once again her heals click across the stage. She picks that center piece of paper. Fifty-four pieces have my name printed on it. It won't be a big shock if my name is on that piece.

"Russell Mossburg." So why am I so surprised? I knew the odds were not in my favor. I take a deep breath to settle my nerves, then I walk onto the stage. I catch Joyce's expression as I walk by her. Her lower lip trembles and her eyes are open wide. I give her a small nod. Trying to tell her I'm okay.

Once on stage I realize just how small my District partner is. Joyce is the same age as this girl, but this girl is tiny. I tower over her, and when we shake hands I feel like I'll crush her small fingers.

**District 10 Reaping**

**Kyler Theodore POV**

I wake up before sunrise and hike out into the fields. Then I jump up onto my horse. Well, he's not really mine. He belongs to my neighbors, but I often go out late at night or early in the morning and ride him. He is a golden brown, with big brown eyes and a golden hair. I pat his neck then give him a small kick with my heals.

He trots forward. I give him another small kick and lean in. He gallops faster, wind flows through my hair. I smile as I give him another small kick. Telling him to move faster yet again. Suddenly we are speeding across the field. I lean in close to let the air fly over my back. I guide him into a wide sweeping turn. The fact that I feel like I might fall off is the thrill. I guide him to the large rock in the middle of the field. He heads right for it, knowing what to do. We get close, and for half a second I let myself believe we won't make it. Then we fly over the rock and land perfectly on the other side.

The horse slows and finally stops. Ready for a break. I pat his neck again and climb off.

"I have to go early today." I tell him. Then I set off back toward my house.

Once home I wash up quickly and change into my reaping clothes. Ma wakes up soon after and comes out of the small bedroom.

"Someone was up early." She says.

"Couldn't sleep." I lie. She nods and puts some bread in the oven for us to eat. We aren't extremely poor, being it's just the two of us. But we could do better. We sit in silence as the bread bakes. I watch out the window as the sun light slowly spreads across the sky. Ma actually startles me as she places the loaf of bread in front of me.

"Daydreaming?" She asks. I nod and take some of the bread. We eat quietly, Ma finishes before me and goes outside to collect the eggs from the chickens. I clean up the kitchen when I finish eating then wait around the house until it is time to go.

We always arrive to reaping early, mainly because waiting around the house in silence drives us both insane. It's not even time to check in yet so we sit on a short wall and people watch. Ma and I have never been able to communicate well. We honestly don't know much about each other. Finally they start to let kids check in. So I give Ma a quick hug leave her sitting alone.

Fifteen minutes later the square starts to fill, and finally our escort, Thaddeus, steps onto the stage. He is a wiry man, with long arms and legs, wild black hair with green tips, and black eyes that seem to look right through you.

"Welcome District 10, to the 31st Annual Hunger Games!" With no Victors to introduce the video starts right up; after Thaddeus walks over to the females bowl. "Now for are Females. May the odds be ever in your favor, ladies!" He reaches into the bowl and plucks a name from one of the edges. "Mariana Turner!" There is a shriek from the crowd, at first I think it's the girl, but then I realize it's not her. She's walking quickly down the aisle. Her head held high. At least she can act confident for the cameras. She steps onto the stage and there is another cry from the crowd, I'm assuming a little sister.

"Now for our males! Gentleman, may the odds be ever in your favor!" He reaches into the bowl and picks a piece near the bottom. I hold my breath as he unfolds the paper. "Kyler Theodore!" Heads turn toward me, and a path clears. Trying to copy the girl I walk quickly into the aisle and hold my head high. But I can feel the cameras watching me, and I feel they see right through my act.

"District 10's tributes are Mariana Turner and Kyler Theodore!" There are no claps, as no one has confidence in us. I shake the girls hand then we are pushed inside the Justice Building.

**District 12 Reaping**

**Girly Matlock POV**

I knock on my grandparents bedroom door.

"Come in." Grandma calls. I open the door a crack and peak inside. Grandpa is sleeping, like always.

"I'm about to go to the reaping." I say quietly. Grandma holds her arms out, wanting a hug. I step inside the room and lean over the bed to hug her.

"Good luck." She whispers into my ear.

"Thank you, Grandma." I say. I stand back up and pull a note out of my pocket. "If I don't come back, this is for both of you."

"Don't talk like that." Grandma says. But I make her take the note. I may never see them again, this note is the only thing I can give them. I give Grandpa a quick kiss on his forehead then leave the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

It's gloomy out, like it always seems to be on reaping day. The sun struggles to shine through a thick layer of grey clouds. I kick pebbles on my way to the reaping, and when I'm just a couple alley ways away from the square I'm suddenly stopped.

"Matlock?" I freeze at the sound of my name. Then someone steps out of a doorway behind me. It's Duke. He's dressed in he's Peacekeepers uniform.

"Hey, Duke." I say, unsure of what to say. He obviously feels uncomfortable as well, we've only spoken to each other a couple times. The first time when I was twelve. He was just assigned to our district, only sixteen years old himself. He caught me stealing bananas off a fruit cart.

I managed to talk my way out of it. I was twelve. And I was nothing but skin and bones at the time. He felt bad for me and let me go without a whipping.

The next time we spoke was after my parents died. I was thirteen then. Some Peacekeepers come to take me to a group home, seeing as they felt my Grandparents were unfit to raise me. But once again I was able to convinced them to let me stay with my Grandparents, after all, I take care of them. Without me they'd both die.

At first I thought it was just young naive me that though Duke might like me. After all he is four years older than me. But every time we are in the same place he looks at me like I'm special.

"So, good luck in the Reaping today." He blurts out. I can't help but laugh a little. That's all everyone ever says.

"Thanks." That's all I ever reply with.

"What are your odds?" He asks. That's not something children normally discuss, as it truly shows just how poor one is.

"Twenty." I try to make it sound like it's no big deal. There are children with their names in at least fifty times. Duke doesn't seem to know what to say to that. So I just keep talking. "Well, we better get going.." And I turn to head toward the square. Duke follows a few feet behind me, making the walk really awkward. Finally we go our separate ways as I stand in the line to check in and he positions himself over by the children already standing in their sections.

I'm shuffled through the line and eventually a needle is jabbed into my finger. Once I make it through I search the fifteen year old section quickly for any of my friends. When I don't see anyone I settle on a spot near the center.

It doesn't take long for the square to fill up and for our District Escort, Suzy Zyn, to walk onto the stage. Every year she looks crazy. All of us in the district are dressed in fading colors. She always goes for the brightest thing she can find. This year she found a lime green dress.

She gets to picking the names quickly.

"As tradition, ladies first!" I cross my fingers and close my eyes. Please not me, please not me. Grandma and Grandpa need me. Please not me.

"Ehm. Girly Matlock."

Instantly my eyes burn with tears. I try to hold them back. All around heads turn to me, and I slowly walk into the aisle. When I look up at the stage I suddenly can't move. I don't want to be up there. I can't be up there.

"Matlock, move." I know the voice. It's Duke. Suddenly he's grabbing my shoulders and pushing me forward.

"No!" I say, squirming against him.

"You have to." He says quietly. Normally Peacekeepers will just shove a tribute up onto the stage, but Duke stops when we reach the stairs. "If you will climb them yourself you'll look better on TV." He says.

He's right. So I force my feet to climb the steps.

"Now for the boy!" Suzy Zyn says before I even take my spot on the stage. "Ehm. Rizon Sung." I don't know the boy. He steps out of the seventeen year old section. Just looking at him it's obvious he can't win. He's cheeks are sunken in and he's wrists look like they could snap like twigs. He's obviously gone several days without food.

"District 12! Your tributes! Girly Matlock and Rizon Sung!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Goodbyes & Train Rides

**AN: I hope you like this chapter. The next chapter will be training, not the parades. Mainly because I want to start getting to some action scenes. Plus I'm not good at coming up with outfits. Thank you for reading!**

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**Goodbyes & Train Rides**

**Gabriella Dutch POV**

I'm led to the same room I said goodbye to Topanga in just a year ago. Last year I thought saying goodbye to Topanga in this room was a tragedy, but now I'm about to say goodbye to my family, and that's a thousand times worse.

I stand by the door, waiting for my family to come in. And I barley wait for the doorknob to be turned before I'm running forward to hug them. Becka and Trudy are in my arms and crying. The rest of the family surrounds us, I feel smothered, but I don't care. This is my family. This could be the last time I ever see them.

A single tear rolls down my cheek. I know I can't cry after this. Once I leave my family I have to be strong.

Once I hug everyone and tell them I love them Mom and Dad send my siblings out of the room. Mom takes my arms in her hands and looks straight into my eyes.

"Gabby, people will know you. They will recognize you. Topanga was well liked, so that may help with sponsors, but because you stood up for Topanga and her mother, the President and Gamemakers will have their eyes on you."

"I know." I say, slightly ashamed in myself for acting on impulse last year and standing up to a peacekeeper while all of Panem was watching. Now Father chimes in on the conversation. Pulling me in for a hug instead of looking me in the eyes.

"Just be careful." He says. I nod, holding back a couple more tears. The President made sure everyone in Panem knew that tributes who rebel will be the cause of their families deaths. That means I will have to be extra careful with what I say and what I do, I could already be seen as a threat in the President's eyes.

The door opens and a Peacekeeper comes to take my parents away from me. Another leads me to the train. I've never been on a train before, and I'd give almost anything to not go on this one.

I climb onto the train and look around in the small compartment. Kurk is already sitting on a large couch, his eyes are red and puffy. Slowly I sit beside him.

"Hey, Gabs." He moans. I almost tell him to not call me Gabs. But at this point it doesn't really matter.

Gloria enters the compartment and looks over at us in disgust.

"Perk up you two! You'll love the Capitol! Just think of all the great things you'll get to see!"

"Like the faces of the children who are going to die soon." I say. One mental slap on the hand for me. Not even five minutes after the talk with my parents and I'm already blurting stuff out.

Gloria's smile falls for a second, but she ignores the comment and ushers us off of the couch. "You two need to meet your mentors!" She leads us into another compartment, where our two Victors sit at a table playing a card game are. They don't even look up when we sit down across from them.

The boy I recognize as Cruise lays down a red card with a seven on it. Then the boy I recognize as Westyn lays down a black card with a six on it. They each lay down a few more cards before I finally can't stand the silence anymore.

"I'm Gabby." I say, standing up so quickly my chair falls backwards. I hold my hand out and glare down at the two guys. Cruise glances up and grins, then instantly goes back to his card game. "Gabriella Dutch. I was just reaped." Again all I get is a glance. "So in a few days I'm going to have to start killing some people." This time not even a glance. I slam my fist down onto their cards. Cruise laughs.

"You owe me a drink." He says to Westyn. "She's just like Topanga."

"Excuse me?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"No one could put up with Topanga. Being her friend I knew you had to be like her."

"I'm nothing like Topanga." I snap. Even though I know he's right. Topanga and I become friends after we both got in trouble for arguing back to a teacher at school when he told the class we were all in trouble for something we didn't do. We had to sit in the office for an hour waiting on our parents. We become fast friends, laughing about the teacher and the way he stuttered after he got nervous about us arguing back.

"Well I sure hope you fight like her." Westyn says. After that they get to the introductions, and finally we settle into talking about the games and what will be expected of us.

**Russell Mossburg POV**

Almost everyone in my family comes through the door, the only person missing is Grandpa. Ulysses instantly jumps up into my arms and I hug the little guy.

"I don't want you to go, Russ." He whines into my ear.

"I don't want to go. But I have to." I whisper to him. He lets out a small sniffle and I have to hand him over to mom. Out of all my siblings Ulysses is the one who has always been by my side. Joyce and Gigi stick together and do things on their own. Ethan is stubborn and thinks he's too cool to be around his family. But Ulysses has always been by my side, asking for my help, or asking if he can help me with something. I've always felt I was a rule model to him.

What will he think of me when he sees me killing other kids?

"You guys can't watch." I blurt out.

"What?" Ethan asks, stunned.

"Don't watch the games, you can't see me-"

"You aren't going to die!" Gigi yelps, running over and hugging me.

"No. No that's not what I mean. You can't watch me win." I say. Suddenly I picture myself cutting the throat of some little girl Gigi's age. Dad pulls me in for a hug.

"We'll make sure your brothers and sisters don't see anything bad." He whispers. The entire game will be bad. The only way to not let them see is to not let them watch.

"Thank you." I whisper back.

A peacekeeper opens the door and my family leaves. I sit, wondering where Grandpa is. Finally the door reopens and it's him. I jump up and give him a hug. He pats my back and then has me sit down again.

"Russ. You were my first grandkid. When you were born I had something made. Then Ethan was born and I had his name added to it. With each grandkid I had a name added. If any of you were ever reaped I wanted to give it to you."

He pulls a short woven string necklace out of his pocket and hands it to me. Woven between the string is all of my siblings names in thin wire. Mine is first, right in the center. Then Ethan and Gigi on both sides of my name. Beside theirs is Joyce and Ulysses. All of our names are there.

"Grandpa... thank you so much." I say. "I had no clue you had this made."

"I've asked around. It'll make it through inspection. The wire is small enough, so you can't do any damage with it."

"I'd never take this apart." I say, instantly putting the necklace on. "Thank you."

Soon after a Peacekeeper comes in and takes me to the train. There is only four of us sitting around a table with all sorts of food on it. Panem's newest Victor and our first and only mentor Lex, Lila, myself, and little Carlyn who sits uncomfortably in her seat.

"Russell and Carlyn, right?" Lex says, offering to shake our hands. I take the offer, but Carlyn isn't so open for the idea.

"You can call me Russ." I say. Lex nods. Suddenly I realize he's younger than me. It's only by a year, because he'd be sixteen now, being he won at the age of fifteen. But I'm seventeen, so I'm still older than him.

"Lex." He says, like we wouldn't know his name. "So um, what's your plan?" He asks, obviously he has no clue what to do as a mentor, he talks quickly and doesn't look at us when he talks.

"Well, I'll do what I have to in order to get home." I say.

"Me too." Carlyns speaks up, her voice is small, but she sounds determined non-the-less. "I want to go home." She says.

"And what do you do at home that could help you in the games?" Lex asks nicely.

Carlyn thinks for a minute before quickly saying "I shoot lizards with my brother's sling-shot."

At this I almost laugh, coming from such a little girl about such an important game it seems like she won't stand a chance. But I think about it for a minute and lizards are hard to catch, the fact that she can hit one with a sling shot is impressive.

"Have sling-shots ever been used in the games before?" I ask.

"I have no clue. Not since I've watched." Lex says, "But it would be great to show the Gamemakers something new." He turns to me. "What are you good at?" He asks.

"Working in a factory." I say. It's true. I haven't done much in my life but go to school during the day then work in the afternoon.

"You read?" Lex asks.

"Some. But I'm no 10 scorer like you." Lex ponders on that for a minute, then finally he lets the whole subject drop and tells us we need to get ready to watch the reapings.

**Kyler Theodore POV**

A Peacekeeper leaves me in a small room. Not soon after Ma comes in. Her eyes are red, and I can tell she's been trying not to cry. I walk over to her and hug her.

"It's ok, Ma." I whisper. She sniffles but nods her head. "I'll try my best to come home."

"I want you to come home. That's all I want. Just come home." She says, tears threatening to fall down her face at any second. "You are my baby boy."

"I know Ma." I say, patting her back. For some reason I feel so calm. I know I should be freaking out right now, I should be afraid of never seeing my Ma again. But I feel like time is standing still, and that even though I will be leaving, I'll definitely be returning home. Only one out of twenty four gets to go home, and the odds are against me. But I just don't feel like I'm really in danger. It's like a bad dream and it'll all go away soon.

"Do you have your father's bracelet?" Ma asks, pulling away from me and checking my wrist. Papa was given a leather bracelet when he was a kid. About a year before he died he gave it to me for one of my birthdays. Since then I've worn it to every reaping. I know he never meant for it to be my District token, but it just felt like it should be.

"Of course I do, Ma." I say, rolling my sleeve up so she can see it. She smiles and hugs me one last time before leaving the room. Two of my classmates come in right after. They wish me luck and tell me they can't wait to see me after the games. I promise to let them come visit my giant home afterwards for dinner one night. We spend the minutes together laughing, it feels good. Because I know most tributes cry when they say goodbye. I don't want to cry.

The Peacekeeper makes my classmates leave and walks me over to the car where the District escort and my District partner wait. Mariana is older than me, she walked out of the eighteen year old section. But I'm still bigger than her. I have more muscles, probably from working in the butcher shop where I lift meat that weights as much as I do.

We get to the train quickly and climb inside.

"So, do you two plan on working together?" Thaddeus asks us as we sit on some couches. Thaddeus pours himself a glass of something. It's a funny pink color.

"Um.. I don't know." I say, looking over at Mariana. She shrugs as she takes in my appearance.

"How old are you?" She asks me.

"Sixteen." I say. She looks impressed and looks back at Thaddeus, who drains his glass of pink liquid.

"How rude of me." He says, quickly placing two glasses in front of us and filling them. "Lemonade?" He asks. Mariana quickly takes the cup and takes a mouthful. She makes a face and struggles to swallow.

"Nasty?" I ask.

"Sour." She says, placing her cup slowly back in front of her. "But not bad." She adds at Thaddeus's disappointed look. "So, what is the plan? We don't have a mentor, so what do we do for training? And should we work together, considering that, well, only one of us gets to live. I remember what happened to that poor girl during the 25th games, having to, well, kill her own..." She glances at me then, "partner."

"I don't want to kill my own partner." I blurt out. Suddenly realizing that I might have to kill this girl who sits beside me. "I mean, we are from the same District. We both have families who live in ten."

"Exactly." She says.

"All the more reason to work together!" Thaddeus chimes in. "That way, if the District wants to get some money together to send a gift, they can just send something to both of you at once. No need to buy two gifts."

I glace back over at Mariana, who sips at her lemonade. She catches me looking and shrugs again. "What are you good at?" She asks.

"I'm strong." I say. "Does that help?"

"I'm sure! All I do is milk cows and sheep. I have _no _clue how that will help me!" She says, basically laughing.

"You're charismatic." I tell her.

"So? How does that help in the arena?"

"Sponsors!" Thaddeus basically yells. "You could bring in sponsors for the two of you! Kyler here could do all the fighting, and you could get all the goods!"

"You seem pretty certain of this." Mariana laughs.

"Just ask any mentor willing to help! They'll say the same thing, my girl!"

Mariana and I share another glace and shrug. If what Thaddeus says is true, maybe we should work together. Of course we'll have to figure out what to do in the end, if we both make it that far. But for now it seems like we actually have a plan.

**Girly Matlock POV**

I'm shoved into a small room with fancy claw foot couches. It's a funny detail to notice, but I know I won't have anything else to do in this room for the next few minutes but look around.

In about ten minutes Grandma and Grandpa will be waiting for me to come through the front door and knock on theirs. But I won't come. They'll probably wait another ten minutes. They'll get slightly worried but think I just got held up somewhere. Around nightfall they'll probably open the letter.

I shouldn't have lied in the letter, but I told them I'd come home and we'd all get to move to the Victors Village, we'd have better medication for them and maybe they'd be able to get out of bed.

I shouldn't have told them that. They probably won't believe me anyways, but I don't want to get their hopes up.

The door opens and I jump, startled. It's Duke.

"Oh, hey." I say, slightly disappointed. For a second I thought maybe somehow my Grandparents made it, even though that's completely impossible.

"Hey." He says. "I only have a minute. I just told my boss I was checking on you."

"Oh, thanks." I say confused.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry you got reaped."

"Thanks." I say again. "It means a lot to me you came to say goodbye." I pick at a loose string on the couch.

"I also wanted you to know I'd check in on your grandparents." This takes me by surprise.

"Really?" I ask, smiling up at him. "You don't have to do that. The doctor stops by once a week, so-"

"They need to eat more than once a week though." He says. "I'll try to stop by every other day to make sure they are eating and stuff."

"Thank you!" I say, rushing over and giving him a hug. As soon as my arms wrap around his waist I realize how big of a mistake it was. We pull apart quickly, like something shocked us. "Um, thanks." I say again, quietly this time.

"No problem, Matlock." He says. "I have to go though, I've already been in here too long."

"Can't you walk me to the car?" I ask, wanting a comforting hand and not the hands that shoved me into the room.

"No, I can't. I'm sorry." He says.

"It's ok." I say, looking at my feet. "Bye, Duke."

"Bye, Matlock." He says, opening the door and walking out into the hallway. I don't have time to sit down before the other Peacekeeper comes in and grabs my hand. He pulls me outside to the car. I sit beside Suzy Zyn, who looks really bored. She doesn't speak a word when we get on the train. And it isn't until time for the reapings that she finally tells us to stop eating and to move into the other compartment.

The three of us sit quietly and watch as kids much bigger, stronger, and more skilled than us volunteer for the games. Even a couple of the kids from the outer districts looks more in shape than normal. I'm never going to see my Grandparents again, I realize.


	4. Chapter 4 -Training Day 1

**AN: It's training time! I'm trying to throw in some interesting skills for the tributes, but I could be failing. This chapter is just a normal training chapter in the Training Center. The next chapter will be have some of Lex's POV. So it'll break away from the training just a little bit. I hope you like this chapter and thank you for reading. Please review, good or bad. Any feedback is welcome! **

* * *

**Training Day 1**

**Kyler Theodore POV**

The parade was insane. They dressed us up and made us act like animals. Mariana looked pretty, which is a great accomplishment considering she was dressed like a cow. I looked like a freak. Mariana at least got some cheers, no one even bothered to look at me when I waved. It seems like we'll have to do as Thaddeus said. Mariana will woo the sponsors with her charm, and I'll protect her with my strength.

We listen to a lady with short black hair explain how the training center is set up. I look around at all the weapons. There has to be something here I can learn to use in three days. The Careers eye the knife station. I look over at the weights.

The lady finishes explain the rules, basically we can't fight each other now. And for the first hour or so we will have free roam of the training center, then mentors will come in to evaluate us and find our strengths and weaknesses.

Mariana and I head over to the weight lifting station. I pick up a larger weight easily, but Mariana can't even lift the little ones. I set down the larger weight and help Mariana lift the smaller weight.

"What a lot of people don't know, if you lift with your legs, not your back." I tell her, placing my hand on her back to make sure she doesn't bend backwards under the weight. We work at lifting the weights for a good fifteen minutes until someone else walks over.

"How much can you lift?" He asks. I look over at the boy, he's right around my age, but he's small and skinny.

"I don't know. Quite a bit. I lift hogs and cattle and stuff at the butcher shop back home." I say.

"District 10, then?" The boy asks. I nod. "I'm from 11. Right about now I wish I could have worked in a butcher shop. At least I'd have a chance in the games."

"You'll have a chance." Mariana says.

"Nah." The boy says, slightly embarrassed. "I'll probably be dead in a few days. Sad huh. But, at least I can face the reality, unlike some people here."

At that I start to feel uncomfortable. Am I not facing reality? Dying has hardly crossed my mind, I've just been planning on winning. But should I be ready to face death?

"I wouldn't give up so easily." I say, picking up one of the lighter weights, planning on handing it to the boy. "You have three days to find something you're good at." The boy refuses to take the weights.

"No, look. I've already told everyone I love goodbye. I'll see them again someday. Someone more prepared will win anyways. There is no reason to give my family false hope. Heck, when someone from the outer districts makes it past the bloodbath people get over excited. No need for that. A Career will win."

"There is no way of knowing that for sure." Mariana says. "Look what happened last year!"

"Exactly. Tributes died for someone else. At least I can do that. I can let someone else win."

"No." I say quickly. "You can't do that. The President will have everyone you love executed!"

"Not if my death looks like an accident. Or if I don't actually do it myself. Heck all I need if for another tribute to kill me. That's one step closer for someone worthy winning." The boy says.

"You can't give up so soon." Mariana says upset. "It just gives the Capitol what they want. Death, bloodshed, a good show."

The boy basically shrugs, "Maybe. But the odds are always against us in the outer Districts. The Careers will win." And with that he leaves. I glance over at Mariana, who has tears in her eyes.

"What's happening?" She asks. "I never knew that tributes didn't even try to win." We look around the training center. Everyone at least looks like they are working hard.

"Maybe he's the only one who has given up." I say. But then I realize, the more tributes that give up leads me closer to the end. If everyone tries the odds of winning goes down. I look around and spot the boy from eleven again, he is talking to someone else now. From the way he stands and moves his hands it looks like he is giving them the same speech he just gave us.

Maybe he hasn't given up. Maybe he's just trying to make us all think we are useless. Maybe he wants tributes to just roll over and die so there is more of a chance of him winning.

Dying just so someone else can win is not an option for me. I turn back to the weights and start lifting them. When trainers show up I'll find one to fight. Maybe I'll be able to wrestle him to the ground. I am strong, and sometimes weapons aren't even needed. It's just about over powering the other tributes.

**Gabby Dutch POV**

I head straight for wound healing. Other tributes already give me strange looks and watch every move I make. It's no secret that my best friend was The Princess. Just by association I'm a threat in these tributes eyes. I sit down and start reading the directions on the back of some of the medications. If I lay low maybe they won't see me as a threat, I'll do all the real training when I work in private training.

As I read and mess around with gels and bandages I glance around at other tributes. From where I sit I can see the Careers practicing. The Career girl from 2 seems to be an expert at throwing knives, and the boy from 2 keeps throwing a metal ball with spikes on it.

However the Career boy from 1 seems to be the leader this year. He keeps pointing and telling the other Careers what to do. He hands the boy from 4 a trident. I can't help but watch as 4 takes the trident, aims at a dummy, and throws it perfectly into the dummy's chest.

I turn my focus back to the bandage I was putting on my side. Apparently side wounds bleed a lot, so it's important to keep the wrap of bandages tight. And if it's possible the wound should be stitched. Just looking at the needle gives me chills. I don't think I'd be able to run that through my skin.

A loud cheer comes from over by the Careers and I look back over at them. A couple of the Careers high five the boy from 1. From what I see he threw three large knives into the back of a dummy's head.

**Girly Matlock POV**

As soon as we are dismissed to do whatever we want in the training center all of the tributes scatter. I'm left standing alone. Even my District partner left me. It's clear I'll be alone in these games, which isn't a big surprise being from District 12.

I head over to the trap making section, there are two other tributes. On the back of their training outfits is the number 6. Transportation. Meaning these tributes have probably been building things their whole lives. I hover behind them awkwardly. The boy cuts away at a small stick, making it sharp. He then attaches it to the part of the trap the girl was making. They take a step back then toss a small fake animal at the trap. As soon as the fake animal hits one of the strings the sharp stick shoots forward and scewers the fake animal.

"Could you show me how to do that?" I ask them. They both look uneasy but agree to show me how to build it. I take one of the small knifes and cut away at the sticks. The girl from 6 gets annoyed easily and points out mistakes every couple minutes. The boy leans over and whispers something to her.

"Look. I think you get the idea. Just keep working at it." The girl says as she stands up. "We are going to go work over there." But she doesn't point to where they are going and the two of them disappear quickly. Clearly I've been wasting their time.

I look around at the supplies around me. Everything a tribute could ever need for trap making is here. I just have to figure out how to use it. I spend about an hour working at the animal spear trap before I get it right.

**Russ Mossburg POV**

For the first hour of training Carlyn and I study at the computers. We read about plants, animals, mutts, bugs, and weather, everything we could possibly need to know.

When the buzzer finally sounds I know mentors and trainers will be coming in to watch us.

"Carlyn. I'm going to go over and work on something else for a little bit." I tell her.

"Where?" She asks, looking up from her screen nervously.

"I want to go watch the Careers fight with some of the trainers. Just to see how good they really are." I say. "You can come if you want." I add. She looks back at her screen and shakes her head no.

"I want to finish reading about storms." She says. "You'll be back soon, right?"

"Yep." I say, patting her on the head. "Soon, I promise." Then I walk over to watch the Careers. Up above us on balconies are the previous Victors, they watch at trainers get padded up and walk over to the tributes who want to fight them.

The Careers are the first to take on the Challenge. The girl from District 1 goes at a trainer with a sword. The trainer fights back. It's a quick fight, with the girl cutting low and knocking the trainer off his feet. She then points the sword at his throat and the bell rings. Letting her know she won. The smiles to herself and takes a step back. The boy from 1 takes on a trainer with some knifes. He lashes out and cuts some of the padding on the shoulder. Once he lunges at the trainers chest the bell dings. If the trainer wasn't wearing padding he'd be dead for sure.

"Who's next?" The trainer asks.

"Me!" I shout out, sticking my hand in the air. The Careers hide their laughs as I put on some of the padding. I pick up a sword and step onto the mat. The trainer takes picks up his own sword and holds it out. I copy his movement. We stare at each other for a few seconds, then I lash out.

The sword swings forward. I'm clumsy with it and drop it. The Careers burst into laughter and I feel my cheeks go red. But I don't look over at them and I pick the sword back up. I take a couple quick practice swing sings in the air then point back toward the trainer.

"Ready." I say. The trainer lunges at me and I dive backwards. The Careers laugh again but I block the laugher out and keep focused on the trainer. I swing out with the sword again, the weight is funny and the sword goes off to the left, but I'm still able to nick the trainers arm. I swing again, trying to keep the sword more balanced this time. After the fifth or sixth swing I'm able to manipulate the sword better. Finally the trainer starts fighting back.

His sword clashes into mine and the weight is thrown off again, but I push against it and both of our swords swing toward the ground. I drop mine again.

"Not half bad." The trainer says. "Keep this up and you'll be an expert by time you're in that arena." This surprises me, I glance around and realize we've drawn a crowd, more than just the Careers watch us now. Even Carlyn is watching, she beams at me.

I turn back to the trainer. "Let someone else try for a little while." I say, walking off the mat." I glance over at the Careers, the scowl at me. Because now someone else from an outer District steps onto the mat. The Careers can no longer show off.

"That was great!" Carlyn says, rushing over to me once I take all the padding off. "I didn't know you could sword fight!"

"Neither did I." I say. I can't help but smile.


	5. Chapter 5 - Making Deals

**Making Deals**

**Gabby Dutch POV**

Day one seems to be dragging. I ate lunch alone, seeing no one cares to talk to me. After lunch I walk over to the knives, there are small ones, medium size ones, and large ones. I pick up a smaller one and turn toward the target. I throw the knife. My aim is actually pretty good, and I try one of the medium knives, this one is easier to throw, it's slightly heavier and feels more natural. The large knives are too big, and I can't even throw them hard enough. I stick with the medium size knives and start to throw them one after another.

I find a rhythm, and soon all of them are hitting the target. They don't hit dead center, but they hit close enough. I run out of knives and go collect them all. There are twenty five in all. I lay them back down on the table and start to throw them again. I ignore the pain in my shoulder from all the throwing. I have to fight through pain.

Twenty knives later I notice someone standing by me. I throw the last five then turn to the person. It's one of the Careers.

"You aren't half bad." He says, picking up one of the large knives and aiming it at a target. He throws it, and it hits the center.

"Impressive." I say flatly. I really don't' care for show offs.

"Say, you knew The Princess, right?" He asks, I ignore him and walk forward to recollect my knives. Once back at the table he asks again. "You took a pretty harsh beating from a Peacekeeper, right?" I throw a knife, harder and faster this time. It misses the target completely. I have to stay focused on my rhythm. Breathe, aim, throw.

The knife slams into the target with a loud _thunk_ sound, than it drops to the ground.

"I think the pointy part goes into the wood." The Career says.

"Can I help you with something?" I snap, turning to him and crossing my arms.

"Yes, actually. I'm Nikko Rushland, District 1."

"Thanks for introducing yourself. If you expect me to tell you my life story, it isn't going to happen." I turn from him and pick up another knife. I will hit the target again. He won't be a distraction. I aim and throw, the knife hits the target. Instantly I snatch up another knife and throw it, another hit. Again. Again.

" I want to make a deal with you." Nikko finally says. I keep throwing the knives.

"What kind of deal?" I ask, lining up my next knife and throwing it.

"I want you to join the Career pack."

"Yeah, why?" I ask even though I'm not interested.

"Because you knew Topanga, and honestly, she was great. I can tell you are a lot like her." He expects me to say something, but instead I just aim my knife and throw it. "It's only day one and you already have a hang of throwing those things, and your very closed off from everyone else. That'll be good."

"Yeah. I'm closed off because I really don't want anyone talking to me." Maybe he'll take the hint.

"Honestly, Stiles was an idiot for not thinking about letting Topanga join the Careers."

"That's not the only reason he was an idiot." I say. This causes Nikko to pause a second, he wasn't expecting me to say anything about Stiles, he was well liked, probably the best tribute of the Careers.

"So, I'll make a deal with you," He says as I throw another knife. This one hits the center. I'm getting better at this, even with my shoulder aching. "get one kill during the bloodbath and you're in with the Careers."

I set my knife down and turn to him.

"Just one kill?" I ask, truly interested now, "One kill, and I'm a Career, no target on my back."

"Just one kill, no target." He says.

"When do you need an answer?" I ask him.

"Now would be nice, but I'll give you until this time tomorrow, let me know."

"One kill. No double crossing me, right?" I say.

"Nothing like that. You'll be a Career."

"And the others know about this deal?" I ask. He nods. "Ok. I'm in."

**Lex Grovenstin POV**

After lunch the tributes head back to the training center. The other Mentors head to watch the tributes but I stop Cruise.

"Your tributes, they seems pretty tough." I say to him. He rolls his eyes.

"Gabby hardly talks to me, but Kurk is alright." He says. "Why are you watching my tributes, you have two of your own to worry about."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm new to this. Russ, he's a good fighter. And I'd love to help him improve, but when we do private training tomorrow, I won't be able to help him with that." I say, I can help any tribute with plants or weather. But when it comes to fighting I'm useless. I still can't use my fake hand correctly, the wires attach to my arm, and all I have to do is act like I'm moving a real hand. But I psych myself out and can't use the hand. How am I suppose to train tributes when I can't even fight.

"What does he fight with?" Cruise asks. "Knives, axes, swords, what?"

"Swords. I think today was his first time ever using one. And he was great! You should have seen it. I know you are a fighter. A real fighter. Maybe during private training you can work with my tributes some." I say, Cruise rolls his eyes and starts to walk away. I grab his sleeve. He turns back around, annoyed.

"Look, I have two tributes of my own to worry about. I'm not going to take on someone else's responsibility." He snatches his arm away from me and I lose grip on his sleeve. He starts to walk away again.

"It's going to be frozen." I blurt out. Cruise stops and turns back around.

"What?" He asks. I look around, making sure no one heard me. I walk over to him so I can speak quieter.

"The arena. It's going to be frozen." I say quietly.

"No. You can't know that." Cruise shakes his head, clearly not believing me.

"I know. I shouldn't. Honestly I don't know what the Gamemakers would do if they find out I know." I have to speak quickly now. I'm risking too much letting Cruise now this. "I didn't mean to find out. I wasn't even trying to find out. I was going to therapy for my hand a few weeks ago, and on the way one of the trainee Gamemakers spotted me. She asked if I'd like a tour of the Gamemaking headquarters. Being I'm from 5 and know a lot about electricity and stuff she thought I might like to see how some of the arena works."

"She isn't allowed to show you what the theme is though!" Cruise hisses. "You both could be killed for that. I could be killed because you told me!"

"She didn't show me the theme. I just sort of picked up on. They had samples of poison snow laying around and some articles about animals that live in frozen climates. So I'm really just guessing, but I think the arena will be frozen."

"I don't know anything about surviving in the cold though. I mean, maybe making it through some cold nights and all. But I can't even begin to explain to my tributes on how to survive in the cold for a couple weeks if needed." Cruise says.

"Exactly. So, how about I work with your tributes on surviving in harsh weather, all kinds, not just the cold. So if I'm wrong then they'll be prepared for anything." I say.

"And in return I work with your tributes on fighting." Cruise says, nodding his head.

"Yes. Please, Cruise. Our tributes can even work together if you want. And if not that's fine to. I just need some sort of deal with you for at least a couple years. Just until I learn the skill needed myself."

"And I assume as soon as you learn how to fight you'll stop teaching my tributes about plants and weather and stuff."

"That's something you need to learn." I tell him. "Just like I need to learn how to fight."

Cruise looks annoyed. But finally he agrees to the deal.

"Just a couple years. That's it." He says. "We'll work with our own tributes tomorrow, then on day three we'll take each other's and teach them what they need to know."

With that we shake hands on the deal and leave. I return to watching my tributes train. They work with weapons again, Carlyn shows Russ how to use a sling-shot. I glance around and spot Gabriella Dutch, The Princess's friend. She is throwing knives, and one of the Careers is talking to her.

I watch her for a few minutes. She seems to be interested in what the Career says. I look back over at my tributes. The odds keep pilling against them. But I will do anything to make sure one of them makes it out alive.


	6. Chapter 6 - Training Day 2

**AN: Sorry for the long wait between updates! I actually have the interviews and the bloodbath written up, I just have to finish training first. However I got bombarded with school work. Basically I'm working about 5 hours a day on schoolwork after my classes. So my updates will be very slow until I find more time. Also I just wrote this chapter after being awake for more than 24 hours, so it might be a little rough, I just really wanted to get another chapter written! Also, part this chapter turned into section about Topanga. Because this is how my brain works after a full day of schoolwork and sleep deprivation. (Sorry for the long Author Note.) Hope you like this chapter!**

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**Training Day 2**

**Girly Matlock POV**

The trainer center seems a lot bigger now that the tributes with mentors are gone. I look around the room and realize Districts 1 through 6 have mentors, along with District 8, who's Victor got lucky a few years back and didn't die from poison like the last remaining tributes.

I head straight to the trap making section of the center. I worked at it all day yesterday, and I realized just how useful traps could really be. I pick up a heavy rope and toss it over my shoulder, planning on taking it over to the cluster of pine trees shoved in the corner of the center. But before I get very far a mentor stops me. I have no clue who she is, she's around forty years old.

"District 12, right?" She asks me.

"That's what my suit says." I tell her.

"I'm Shimmer, District 1 Victor." She says, holding her hand out for me to shake. I re-adjust the heavy rope on my shoulder so it doesn't fall, then I take her hand and shake it quickly.

"What's your plan?" She asks me, nodding toward the rope.

"I'm going to make a snare trap." I say, nodding toward the cluster of pine trees. Shimmer frowns at the trees.

"Those are new." She says slowly, obviously thinking about something. "You know, I bet that's a hint of what will be in the arena."

"Do they do that?" I ask, shocked that they would give us any sort of clues.

"Well, they like to throw a few things in sometimes. Just to make the games more interesting. My year they had a whole section in this room filled with farm animals!" She says, gazing over toward a corner of the room. I imagine she's remembering her training.

"Why did they do that?" I ask, wondering what the arena that year must have looked like.

"Because that was our only source of food. There were no plants, no trees, nothing. If we wanted to eat, we had to kill an animal."

"I imagine District 10 made it far." I say.

"They did, actually. They boy made it to the final five. I'm not sure how he died. I partnered with the girl. She placed third."

"How did she die?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

"I killed her." Shimmer says simply. A chill runs down my spine, Shimmer said it so calmly, I can't imagine killing someone. I look around the room. I don't know any of these kids, but in order to make it home I'll have to kill at least one of them.

"So!" Shimmer exclaims, "Let's see how well you can make that trap!" I walk over to the pine trees. They are thick, with not much room on the branches, but I manage to climb up into one and toss the rope down. I tie the noose quickly, then toss it down onto the ground. I snap a few twigs then jump down onto the ground. Cutting the twigs so they fit together.

Arranging the snare so it'll be easily triggered is the hard part. I realize I've built the trigger to tall, and someone would easily see it. So I set to work at making the trap lower to the ground. About twenty minutes later I finally figure out what my problem is. The rope I am using is to thick, I can't make the trigger close to the ground because of the rope.

"I'm going to have to start all over." I grown.

"I knew you'd figure that out eventually." Shimmer says. I glance up at her from where I sit on the hard floor. My knees ach from leaning on them for so long.

"You knew?!" I can't keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Of course I did."

"Why didn't you tell me!?" I stand up and kick at the failed attempt of a snare trap.

"No one will be there to help you through the games."

"But I'm supposed to be getting help during training!" I basically yell. "That's the point of all of this! How am I suppose to win if I waste time doing stuff wrong during training!?"

"Oh, honey," Shimmer says with faux sadness in her voice "You think you are going to win? You're from District 12." She sticks out her lower lip slightly. Suddenly anger burns in my chest. She wanted to watch me fail. She didn't come to help, she came to laugh at me. A fully grown adult finds it funny that a small girl from the outer districts is struggling.

I dig my nails into my palm. "Yes," I say through clinched teeth "I do think I will win."

"With what skills?" She basically laughs. Suddenly I'm lunging at her. I can't help it. I spring at her and swing my fist as fast and hard as I can. My right fist makes contact with something hard, then I'm being pushed backwards quickly. A whistle sounds off in the distance and I land hard on my back. But my adrenalin is pumping and I clamber quickly back onto my feet, ready to attack the woman again. But before I can a Peacekeeper steps between us. He grabs my shoulder and pulls me a few feet away from Shimmer.

"Is there a problem?" He asks.

"Yes." I snap.

"I wasn't speaking to you." He's rude. "Ms. Nightingale. Was this tribute bothering you?" He asks Shimmer.

"She attacked me!" Shimmer says, holding her jaw, her eyes water slightly, like she might burst into tears at any minute.

The Peacekeeper tightens his grip on my shoulder and spins me around so I'm forced to look him in the eyes.

"Did you attack Ms. Nightingale?" He growls. Time to lie.

"No, sir." I say, I throw a little waver into my voice so I sound scared. "I asked her for help, she told me I could never win, and then she- she-"

"She's lying!" Shimmer basically yells, taking a step toward me. Instantly I stumble backwards, only stopping when the Peacekeeper refuses to let me go any farther. The Peacekeeper glances between me and Shimmer. She's older, angry, and intimidating. I look weak and scared.

"I don't know what happened, but it better not happen again." The Peacekeeper snaps.

"It w-won't." I stammer. The Peacekeeper looks at Shimmer.

"It won't." She growls, never taking her eyes off me. The Peacekeeper leaves then. I wait to make sure he won't look back before smiling at Shimmer.

"You manipulative little-"

"I always win." I interrupt, grinning from ear to ear. Then I turn on my heal and walk away.

**Gabby Dutch POV**

I barley have time to eat breakfast before Cruise is pulling me away from the table. He sets me down beside Kurk.

"So, how do you two feel about alliances?" He asks.

"I don't know." I say, please, please, don't ask me to be in an alliance with Kurk.

"Ok then, Kurk, what do you think?"

"I guess it depends on who is in it." Kurk says. "I'd be in an alliance with Gabs, if that's what you are asking." This isn't good, I can't agree to be in an alliance with Kurk. But I can't tell him on without a good reason. And neither of them would like to hear I plan on partnering with the Careers.

"It is what I'm asking." Cruise says. "Also, I'd like for you to ally with two other tributes."

"Who?" I ask, this will be my reason, I'll just say I don't trust the tributes he wants me to ally with.

"District 5." Cruise says.

"Ha! Really, who?" I ask, laughing slightly. He _has _to be joking.

"District 5." Cruise repeats. I stare at him, my eyes narrowed slightly and my mouth agape. He takes my and Kurk's silence as a reason to explain. "Their mentor thinks it'll be a good idea if the four of you partner up. And I agree. I'll train his tributes some-"

"Don't you see what he's doing!?" I blurt out. "He can't be a mentor! He's using you! That is what he does!"

"Gabs, maybe we should consider it." Says Kurk.

"Don't call me Gabs!" I snap at him. "And no! Lex Grovenstin should not be a mentor! He has no idea how to be a mentor! Do you know who the new mentor this year should be?" I ask, jumping to my feet.

"Gabby..." Kurk says warningly. But I ignore him. If I don't say what I want to say I'll explode.

"Topanga! She should be here right now preparing me for these games." I start to choke up, and my chest hurts, and I'm shaking. Rather it's from anger, or sadness, or fear, I won't know. But I have to keep talking. "She's dead!" My voice rises. Then I see her. I see her laying on the ground and I see the life drain from her eyes. I remember her mom crying out and hugging her little sister. "She's dead, and the boy she died for can't even do his job! He shouldn't have been the victor." I sit back down quickly, because the room starts to spin around me.

"Gabby," Cruise sits down beside me. "Topanga would not have liked being here. She wouldn't like doing this."

"But she'd be alive." I say. I struggle to keep the tears from falling down my cheeks.

"She didn't want to be alive! Not this way. She knew this was no way to live."

"What way? In a big house? With food, and family? Don't you see! Lex, he got in her head somehow. And he's done that to you! He's manipulative. He got two girls to kill themselves so he could live! And now he's getting you to do his job."

"That's not what happened." Cruise says. "You saw the same show I did. Topanga wanted Lex to win. She knew he'd be able to get his hand fixed, and go home to his little brother. Topanga didn't want to be the Capitol's puppet. Lex isn't manipulative. He just got lucky that there were two girls in the arena who realized what the Capitol would make them do wasn't a way of living."

I get up and leave. I can't deal with this right now. Everyone says Topanga is better off dead. But they don't know who she is. They only saw her on TV. They didn't know her before the games got to her. Before she would have done _anything _to get home to her sister and mother. She scored a ten because of her survival instants. She would have never taken her own life. Somehow, Lex manipulated her. And I will never partner with tributes from his District.

I make my way downstairs to the training center. The room buzzes around me as I keep my hands clinched in a fist and my arms shake. I look around and see the outer district tributes all training with mentors. One boy, the boy from District 10, fights with one of the larger mentors. I watch as he side steps away from a punch, then quickly maneuvers behind the mentor and kicks at the back of his knees. The mentor falls slightly, but he has good balance and is able to spin around. The boy from 10 punches fast and hard at the mentors face. There is a slight cracking sound and a whistle blows.

"That's enough." The mentor laughs. "Very good. You know, you might have broken my nose." Blood drips down onto the wrestling mat. I turn from the fight and look around for the knives. A few are missing, but most are still lined up ready to be thrown. I snatch them up and start throwing.

**Kyler Theodore POV**

My adrenaline is still pumping after the fight. My shoulder aches from a good punch Damien Shorts got in.

I handpicked to fight Damien. I watched his games just a few years ago. He won without using a weapon. During the bloodbath he snapped another tributes neck. Then he won during the feast. He wrestled another tribute to the ground. It was one of the more brutal endings to a game. He punched at the tributes face repeatedly and until the tribute died. Afterwards the tribute wasn't even recognizable. He's face was a bloody mess of broken bone and teeth.

During replays I counted that he punched the tribute twenty six times. Twenty six powerful punches. After the first punch the tribute was knocked out. But Damien keep punching until the cannon fired. The announcers said that the tribute was confirmed dead after the third punch. But the Capitol was enjoying the show so much they let him keep punching.

Damien laughs and whips the blood away from his nose. "I'll be placing a bet on you." He says, slapping me on the back.

"Really?" I ask.

"I've always wanted a more hands on tribute. Most of them are too obsessed with weapons." We walk away from the mats to let other tributes have a turn. Mariana rushes over to me.

"That was great!" Mariana shrieks. "You'll be the Gamemakers favorite!"

"Who is this?" Damien asks, smiling at Mariana.

"Mariana Turner. I'm Kyler's District partner."

"You two are teaming up?" He asks. Giving both of us a full body scan. I can tell he's taking in Mariana's slim features and my muscular arms. "Quite a pair of tributes. I never thought I'd say this before, but my money will be on District 10."

"Sponsor money?" Mariana asks in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes. Damien grins and shakes his head, he's eyes linger slightly too long on Mariana for comfort, but she doesn't let it bother her.

He lets out another short laugh of disbelief. "You two could pass as District 1 or 2 tributes. It's unbelievable."

"Think about all the other unbelievable things I can do after you sponsor me." I narrow my eyes at Mariana, she is really playing the sexy card well. "And if I'm the new Victor, well, you could come visit me any time you wanted."

Shit. She isn't playing around with this sponsor thing.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'd love for you to be the new Victor." Damien says. He's definitely creepy.

"Um... so, I'm going to go check out the medical stuff." I say awkwardly. "Um.. Mariana, you coming?"

"Yep!" She says, her voice chipper. We start to walk away and she spins around to give Damien a small wave with her fingers. Once we are out of earshot she groans. "that was horrible!"

"You were..." I'm not sure what to say.

"A complete airhead? I know." She says. "But he said we could pass for District 1 or 2. And you know they get all the good sponsors. So if we want good sponsors, I'm going to have to act like some of those girls. There's always the one airhead pretty one that the guys sponsor just because they want to sleep with them."

"Would you really sleep with that guy?" I ask.

"Not in a million years." Mariana says. "But he doesn't know that. Honestly, I didn't think I was _that _pretty."

"You're pretty." I blurt out before I can stop myself. I feel my cheeks go red.

"Thanks. So, have any experience with medication?" Mariana asks, I'm relieved she lets my comment slide. We set to work reading up on what to do with different medications and bandages. My lunch my head is spinning.

**Russ Mossburg POV**

Lex starts training off with different types of weather and climates. It seems like boring stuff that really won't help us in the games. But he swears we'll need to know some of this to survive this year. He pulls up a picture of a frozen lake.

"What would you do if you came across this?" He asks us. Carlyn shrugs.

"It depends." I say. "Am I being chased? Am I hungry? What's my situation?"

"You're hungry." Lex says.

"Break the ice and fish." I say simply.

"How?"

"I don't know." I say. "It depends. If I had fishing supplies I'd fish with that. If I didn't have fishing supplies then I guess I wouldn't be fishing."

"But you're hungry." Lex reminds me.

"Would there even be fish?" Carlyn asks. "The lake is frozen, can the fish survive in a frozen lake?"

"Yes." Lex says. "They can, only the top layer is frozen."

"What if I step on it and fall through?" Carlyn asks.

"You don't have to step on it." Lex says.

"But what if I'm being chased and have too!" Worry in her voice. Lex sighs, obviously this lesson isn't going like he planned.

"Let's just focus on fishing right now. There may not be any other food."

"I'd eat bugs." I say simply.

"But it's frozen, so there are no bugs."

"I wouldn't go to a frozen lake if I was starving. I'd stay where it's warmer and eat those bugs."

"The whole arena is frozen!" Lex says angrily.

"We'd freeze!" Carlyn cries out.

"Don't worry about freezing." I tell her.

"But what if you have to worry about freezing. What would you do then?" Lex warns.

"Kill a tribute and take their clothes to wear over mine." Again, a simple answer. Lex looks surprised with my answer.

"Well, technically that would help." He says, baffled. He thinks about his next question carefully. "Would you kill a partner and take their clothes if you were freezing?"

Carlyn lets out a small shriek.

"I wouldn't kill you." I say to the little girl.

"But what if you partnered with someone else? Someone from another district?"

"Probably. If I was freezing and about to die. Or I guess I could just tell them to give me their clothes and leave."

"But then they'd die anyways." Lex points out.

"But not by my blade." I say. "Speaking of which, when can I practice with a sword some more?"

"Tomorrow. With Cruise Natural."

"From District 3?" I ask, surprised he'd be willing to train us. Lex decides now is the time to tell us about his plan for us partnering with the District 3 tributes. But he tells us to be careful of the girl. He isn't sure what her plans are, but she looks shady. Though, I think all of us might look shady, we are expected to kill each other. Of course I'm not going to fully trust anyone and be careful.


	7. Chapter 7 - Training Day 3

**AN: Day 3 of training done! Hopefully I can write up the scoring soon. Then I'll be able to upload three chapters at one time. Please read and review. Let me know what you think, thank you! Also, another disclaimer time:_ I do not own the Hunger Games. _**

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**Training Day 3**

**Lex Grovenstin POV **

Before Russ and Carlyn are even awake there is a knock on our door. I set my breakfast down and walk over to answer it. It's Cruise and the boy from his District.

"I'm guessing Gabby isn't here." Cruise says.

"No." I say, slightly confused.

"Didn't think so. We woke up and she was gone."

"Gone?" I ask. She can't have gone very far. Peacekeepers are all over this place. "Did you check the training center?"

"That's the first place we looked." Cruise says. "Trust me, this was my fifth place to look."

"Why's that?" I'm guessing that means the girl didn't want to train with me. Cruise lets himself into our suite and sits down on the couch. The boy follows him.

"She was upset about training with you and partnering with your tributes. She stormed out yesterday and refused to work with me all day. When she got back she locked herself in her room. This morning her door was open and she was gone."

"Have you talked to the Peacekeepers?" I ask. Sitting across from Cruise and the boy. "They have to know where she is."

"All they know is she told them she was going to train. It's the third day so early training is allowed. But we got down there and she wasn't there. The tributes from 10 and one of the mentors were practicing, but they said she never came into the center."

"So she has to be in one of the other suites then." I say. "Or the cafeteria."

"Checked the cafeteria. No sign of her." The boy says. "I'm Kurk, by the way."

"Lex." I introduce myself, even though he'll know my name. "So she's not in your suite, not in the training center, and not in the cafeteria. Did you check the bathrooms? Maybe she went in there for some privacy or something. If she was upset-"

"Checked." Kurk says, clearly not caring that he interrupted me. I sit thinking for a minute. Who would she go to? If she's with another set of tributes in their suite it'll have to be someone she knows and trust.

The Career boy. She was talking to the boy from District 1 on the first day.

"I might know where she is." I say. "But if I'm wrong and we go asking, we'll be the laughing stock of all the other mentors."

"Already am." Cruise mumbles. Then out loud, "where is she?"

"Possibly downstairs with the District 1 tributes." I say. Kurk laughs. Clearly not believing me. But Cruise knows I'm not lying. He frowns at me.

"District 1? Why do you say that?"

"She was talking to the boy a couple days ago."

"So. A lot of tributes talk to each other."

"They were throwing knives together, and she was clinging to every word he was saying." I say. Cruise literally growls before standing up.

"If she'd gone off and made a deal with him, I swear..." But he trails off and heads for the door. Kurk jumps up to follow him. "Stay here. Train with Lex." Cruise tells him before he slams the door in his face.

I turn to Kurk. "Sorry you got stuck here." I say.

"No, it's all good. I'm excited to meet," He pauses, thinking of their names, "Carlyn and Russell?"

"Yes. Russell prefers Russ though. They should be up soon. I told them they'd start training with Cruise at eight." I check my watch and see it's seven thirty. "But it looks like you three might have some time to talk before they go to train. Let me get you three some breakfast set up." I turn to pick up a tray with some cups on it, my prostatic hand doesn't close tight enough on the handle and I drop the tray. "Shit."

I lean down to clean up and Kurk steps over to help me.

"I got it!" I snap at him. He backs up quickly. "Sorry," I say, "It's this stupid hand. I can't use it correctly. I think life was easier without it."

"Why do you wear it?" Kurk asks, bravely stepping over again to help me clean up the cups. I sign, it's hard to explain.

"My District escort thinks I should. She hounds me about everything."

"You didn't wear it during the tour." Kurk points out. We finish setting the cups back on the tray and I carefully pick it back up.

"I tried the whole rebellious thing. Didn't work well."

"Why?" Kurk asks. He's definitely a curious person. That'll make it easier to teach him about surviving.

"The President," I say simply, "Victors have to do as he says."

"I thought Victors got freedom?" At that I have to laugh. That's what everyone thinks. That's what I thought. I've had many dreams were Topanga and Zila come to me, reminding me why they didn't want to win. Everyone thinks death is the worst thing that can happen to them. But I won The Hunger Games because of rebellion, that means I'm watched all the time. That means I have to do what I'm ordered to do. If I don't, they'll do to my family what they did to Topanga's.

"Depends on how you define freedom." I say, "Let me get breakfast ready." Then I leave the boy waiting at the table.

**Gabby POV**

I weight the knife in my hand, it's heaver than the ones I used in the training center. Sharper too. I pass the knife between my hands, drying the sweat on my palms off on my pants. I stay light on my feet and listen for any sign of movement, my eyes dart back and force between the openings in the trees.

To my left there is a slight popping sound, I spin quickly and throw the knife. Right before the dummy moves back behind a tree the knife catches in its lower arm. Not a great shot, but it could slow someone down for a minute. Instantly I pull the next knife out of the holster. This one is even heavier.

There is another sound to my right. I spin, throwing my next knife as hard as I can. Gravity takes over and pulls the knife downwards, I was aiming for the chest, but the knife lands down by the hip. Still not a deadly shot, but it'd be good enough. I pull one of the smaller knives out. This one feels more natural in my hands, and when a dummy darts between the trees in front of me I'm able to throw the knife easier. The knife flies into the dummy's chest, just like I planned.

I'm too slow to pull out my next knife and another dummy pops up on my left before I see it. A foam arrow flies into my arm. It bounces off and lands on the ground.

"Now your throwing arm would be hurt." Nikko says. Stepping out from the shadows behind me. The girl, Lilith, is with him. She smirks at me.

"I'll do better next time." I say through heavy breaths.

"Next time? You'd be dead. There wouldn't be a next time." Lilith says.

"That arrow wouldn't have killed me. I'd just be hurt." I say, slightly too defensively. The two tributes mentors stand above the training room watching down on us. The guy, nicknamed Tiger Tooth, speaks up.

"Careers don't injure without the intent to kill." He says simply. I glance up at him. "You left two dummies injured but not killed."

"They moved back behind the tree." I say.

"Why didn't you follow them then? Finish them off."

"That wasn't part of the course!" I shout.

"Of course it was! The course was to kill anything that moves in this room."

"So I should have thrown a knife at you?" I snap. Nikko burst into laughter, but Tiger Tooth doesn't look impressed. He glares down at me. "I'm sure you moved. And I knew you were up there. So technically a Career just kills anyone or anything around them." I can't help but snatch a knife out of the holster and point it at him. "Because if you really want me to prove my worth, I can." I say.

"That's enough." Nikko says, still laughing. "See, didn't I tell you. She's just like The Princess."

"Don't say that!" I turn on Nikko, the knife still pointing outwards so it comes dangerously close to his neck.

"Dutch!" Tiger Tooth yells down at me warningly. "I stand by what Nikko said. Get at least one kill during the bloodbath, and you can be a Career."

I drop my arm so the knife hands down by my side. "And I'll get all the same support and sponsors they do?" I ask. "And they can't turn on me until _all _the other tributes are dead."

"Whoa, wait." Lilith says, clearly not happy with that.

"Inkheart, Dutch will be a Career. If you have a problem with that, you can leave the pack." Tiger Tooth tells Lilith. She glares at me but doesn't say anything more. I can't help but smirk.

The doors behind the District 1 mentors burst open. My heart plummets as Cruise walks through them. Shit.

"Is my tribute here?" He asks. But the Mentors don't have to answer, Cruise looks down into the room and sees me. I'm standing here, knife in hand and two Careers by my side. For a second Cruise looks crushed, like I've betrayed him. I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything stupid.

"Gabby." Cruise says. "Come up here... please." I can feel Nikko and Lilith's glares burning a hole into me. I refuse to look at them as I look up at Cruise. They'd want me to tell him no. They'd want me to drop him as my mentor and to listen to them and their mentors. "Gabby." He says again, angry this time.

I don't break eye contact with him, "No." I say loudly. "I need to finish my training here." I can basically hear Cruise grinding his teeth together from anger. We never break eye contact, and I try to tell him without words that I'm sorry, but I can't listen to him right now. Finally he adverts his eyes away from me and to the other Mentors in the room.

"If you double cross her. I'll hurt you." He says to them, then he walks away, slamming the door behind him. I let my shoulders drop and take in a deep breath. Lilith snorts, I can tell she thinks Cruise is a joke. I want to tell her she's wrong, but I can't.

"Let's get back to training." I snap. It's going to be a long day.

**Girly POV**

I perfect building my snare trap only about an hour after entering the center. I look around, wondering how to test it out. I decide to leave it set up for a few hours. I'll train with a few other things before testing it.

I sit in front of the computer screens for awhile, reading about plants, weather, and animals. Then I decide I better work on fighting. That is a big part of the games. I pick up some knives and stab at some dummies.

"This is so weird." I mumble to myself. Not one of the mentors comes over to help me. I look around and spot Rizon working on making a fire, we've barley spoken to each other. Not even during breakfast or dinner. I walk over to him.

"Is that hard?" I ask him. He glances up at me and shrugs.

"I'd be easier if someone told me what I was doing." He says. I nod and kneel down beside him. "Do you know I had a mentor laugh at me when I failed at shooting a bow."

"Was she from District 1?" I ask, thinking about Shimmer.

"Don't know, she was in late thirties or early forties probably."

"Shimmer?"

"I don't know her name." He says. He looks around the center, after about thirty seconds he spots her and nods "That lady there." I follow his eye line and spot Shimmer, watching some other tributes.

"She's a bitch." I say simply. Rizon smiles but then turns his focus back to making a fire. I look back at my snare trap, I did do a really good job with it, because I know where it is but can't see it. I glance back at Shimmer. She has a smug look on her face a she watches one of the District 11 tributes fall off a rope, landing hard on his leg. I wince, hoping he isn't too hurt.

"You should go ask her for help." I say, a plan taking form in my mind.

"What?" Rizon asks, clearly annoyed.

"I have a snare trap set up over in the pine trees. She won't listen to me because I punched her yesterday-"

"You did what!?" Rizon asks, dropping his tools and staring at me with his mouth open.

"Punched her, but that's beside the point." I say quickly, trying to get him back to the plan. "She said I could never win, all because I couldn't build a stupid trap. So I think you should lead her to the trap."

"What will it do?" He asks, glancing back over at her.

"When she steps on the trigger, the rope will close around her ankle and pull her up." I say, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're joking." Rizon says, leaning back against the wall to relax a little.

"Nope!" I say. "How great would it be to see her hanging upside down?"

"Pretty great." Rizon says. "Then maybe she wouldn't underestimate District 12. How do I get her over there?"

"I don't know. Tell her you need help climbing a tree or something. No, wait. Take one of those sap draining things and tell her you aren't sure how to put it into the tree. Make her think you are really weak. She'll probably love to watch you struggle."

"How will I avoid the trap?" He asks. I glance back over at her, she's really focused on watching the tributes climb a rope. I pull Rizon up off the ground and lead him into the trees where my trap is.

"It's right there." I say, pointing at a cluster of dead pine needles and broken branches. "So just avoid it, make her step on it." I say. I look around. "If you come to this tree here," I step over to a tree to show him which one, "and come from that direction over there," I point "She could easily walk right into the trap."

"Brilliant!" He says. "You stay over there by the fire station, so it doesn't look too suspicious."

I make my way back over to the fire station and pick up some tools so I look busy. I watch from the corner of my eye as Rizon runs to get a sap drainer. Then he walks over to Shimmer and taps her shoulder. She looks at him. I can't hear what he's saying, but he keeps his head low and shrugs his shoulders a lot and waves the sap drainer around. Shimmer shakes her head in disbelief but starts to follow him. I hide a grin and turn my head back toward the sticks I'm rubbing together. As they get closer to the trees I look back up at them. Rizon steps carefully as he approaches the trap.

I hold my breath, praying he doesn't step on it. I let the breath out as he avoids it and starts to hold the sap drainer up to the tree. He shrugs and turns back toward Shimmer, clearly asking for help. She lets out a small laugh but steps toward him. I hold my breath again as she steps dangerously close with her right foot but misses.

Rizon looks as frustrated as I feel. I strain to hear what he says to her. Something about a rock! Yes! That's good. He turns to look for a rock and Shimmer does too. Her foot moves slightly toward the trap.

Step on it. Step on it.

Rizon inches closer toward her, making her angry. She takes a step back.

It happens quickly. She falls forward and lands hard on her hands and chest. Then the rope pulls upward. It doesn't pull her completely upside down, so her chest and face are still on the floor, her back is bent awkwardly and her other leg dangles downward.

I can't help but to laugh. My laugh echoes through the center and other tributes and mentors turn to look at what happened. Rizon leans against a tree, clutching his side in laughter. Shimmer curses loudly and several whistles go off.

"It was that brat! The girl from 12!" Shimmer screams as Peacekeepers rush over to help her down. I sit on the floor and hold my aching jaw from laugher. Rizon backs away and stands by the edge of the trees. Other tributes gather around to see exactly what happened.

"12! She did this!" Shimmer screams loudly, making more Peacekeepers come over. One walks over to me. I sit with a few sticks in my hand. He grabs my shoulder and pulls me up onto my feet.

Shimmer marches over to me, blood pouring from her nose and lip.

"I didn't know it worked." I say defensively. Trying hard to keep the laughter out of my voice.

"She's lying!" Shimmer shouts, spitting on me slightly. I cringe and whip my face. There are several murmurs from other tributes all around us. "She's the one that punched me yesterday! Do something about this!"

"I didn't know the trap worked." I say again. "And I never punched you." I add. Another Peacekeeper walks over to me.

"So you admit to setting the trap up?" He asks.

"Yes. But I tossed some fake animals onto it and it did nothing. I gave up and left it." I lie.

"Liar!" Shimmer shouts again.

"I'm not lying." I say, I let tears come to my eyes. "I didn't mean too." My voice breaks, all part of the act. "I'm sorry."

"I think it'd be best if you go back to your suite." The Peacekeeper holding my shoulder says. "And Mrs. Nightingale, head back to your loft and clean up."

"I can't train?" I ask.

"You can come back after lunch." He says once Shimmer is gone. "And I don't want to here anything else from you."

I'm lead back to my suite. It sucks, because I'll miss out on a about three hours of training. But it was worth it. Maybe Shimmer will never see District 12 as weak again, now I just have win to really show her how wrong she is.


	8. Chapter 8 - Training Scores

**AN: Sorry for the time jumping in this chapter.**

* * *

**Training Scores**

**Gabby POV**

All 24 of us sit in a room, Lilith is the first tribute to go into the training center. Before entering she looks back at us all and gives a small smirk. Clearly she thinks she's the best and we don't stand a chance. The automatic doors close behind her.

She's only in the room for about six minutes, either she really screwed up or did amazing. I'm thinking the later. Nikko enters next, after being in the room for about ten minutes all the tributes around us start to get fidgety.

Kurk glances over at me, a mix of emotions swarm across his face. After refusing to train with him earlier today he must hate me. This is the first I've seen him since Cruise asks for us to be in an alliance together. Now he knows I left him for the Careers.

"I'm sorry." I whisper. Even though I'm as quiet as I can be, I'm sure all the tributes can hear. No one makes a sound.

"Don't worry about it." He says, but I can tell he's hurt. Lizzie, the District 2 tribute, comes out of the training room. It took her about ten minutes.

"I should have told you." I say as Dune, the other District 2 tribute, walks into the room. I'm next.

"Whatever." Kurk says flatly.

"I won't let them hurt you." I say. But I know there is no way I can keep them from hurting him.

"Don't worry about me." We sit in silence for a minute. "Wonder what Zeke will think."

My heart starts pounding. How dear he bring Zeke into this! Zeke is my brother, he will understand that I am doing what I have to do to get home. Maybe he will be a little mad that I didn't ally with Kurk, they are best friends after all, but betrayal was bound to come at some point.

"Zeke won't mind." I say, unable to keep the anger out of my hushed whisper.

"He'll mind when the Careers turn on you on day two." Kurk snaps.

"That isn't going to happen." I say. He doesn't understand. He doesn't know what I'm doing. He doesn't know the deal I've made. This deal has opened up many opportunities for me in this game.

The door opens and Dune makes his way out of the small room. I stand, my heart still pounding from anger, and march into the center. Up above sits all the Gamemakers. When I make my way to the center of the room several of them lean forward in their seats.

"You may start, Gabriella Dutch." The Head Gamemaker says. All eyes are on me, some of them look eager, wondering what I have to show. I'm sure they have all seen the footage of the whipping I got from a Peacekeeper after trying to stop the execution of Ms. Lynn. I shift my shoulders uncomfortably remembering the pain I was in for days after.

I turn to find the knives. A cluster of them sit off on the corner of a table. I quickly weight them in my hand, finding some the perfect weight. In front of me are several round targets with rings painted on them. I toss the first knife between my palms, looking at the distance between myself and the targets.

I take aim with the first knife and throw it. It speeds toward the target but sticks down toward the bottom. I aim again and throw. Closer this time. I have to find my rhythm. Two more throws and I hit the center. I throw again, keeping my arm height and strength the same as the time before. Another bulls eye. Perfect. Quickly I start throwing the knifes. I only have five left, but all five fly and penetrate into the red center of the target.

"Thank you, you are done." The Head Gamemaker says.

* * *

Westyn comes to get me from my room to tell me the scores are about to be revealed. I follow him into the TV room. He sits on the large couch with Cruise and Kurk. Only the single chairs sit open for me. Obviously I've been shunned from the group. I pick the seat farthest from the three boys and curl up inside it, hugging my knees to my chest.

These scores will let the Careers know just how good I really am. They've agreed that as long as I kill one tribute during the bloodbath I can join them. But if I score too low they could easily decide I'm not worth it, or if I score to high they might decide to turn on me before all the other tributes are dead.

The announcers come onto the screen, they sit behind a big desk and a large screen sits behind them. Nikko's face already takes up half that screen.

"As everyone knows, the twenty four tributes have been working hard these past couple days. And everyone is excited to see who has been doing the best! Let's get right to it shall we? As always, let's start with District 1. Nikko Rushland, with amazing skills in weapons, scores a TEN! A ten! How amazing!"

Beside Nikko's picture a giant ten spins in a circle. I can basically feel Westyn, Cruise, and Kurk glaring at me. I'm sure they want to tell me how stupid I am for partnering with someone so powerful and unpredictable. The screen changes and Lilith appears on the screen, a smug look on her face like always.

"Lilith Inkeart, from District 1, scores a nine! Another amazing score from District 1! She showed great skill in fighting. Dune Perry, from District 2, scores an eight!" The lowest score of the Careers, it seems no Career scores under an eight though. I miss what Dune scored for, I silently curse myself. "Lizzie Nicksay, District 2, scores a nine! For her knife skills!"

I hold my breath, Kurk will be next. Hopefully he has a decent score. I don't even know what he's been doing in training.

"Kurk Elliot, from District 3, scores a six! For unique weapons skills."

"Good job!" Westyn says as the number six spins beside Kurk's face. I turn to him, wanting to tell him good job. But the three boys don't pay me any attention and look back at the TV.

"Gabriella Dutch, from District 3, scores an EIGHT! For knife skills!" My heart pounds, an eight. I scored in the Career range. I can't help as a small smile spreads on my face. I turn toward the boys again. Cruise and Kurk give me scornful looks. I let my smile drop. Clearly they will never forgive me for joining the Careers. I turn back toward the TV and watch the rest of the reapings. I considered telling them what my plans are, but now that I know they don't care about me they'll just have see for themselves that what I'm doing is the right thing.

**Russ POV**

Tension rises as we all wait to show the Gamemakers our skills. I can tell Carlyn is getting more nervous every minute she waits. Kurk comes out of the room and gives us a small nod, telling us he did good. Kurk is an okay kid, I wasn't sure how allying with him would work, but he obviously is a hard working and I can tell he won't turn on us. I give Carlyn a small smile, trying to help her to relax, she has to go into the room before me, which is good. If she had to wait out in the room alone she'd go into full panic mode.

We weight another twenty minutes after Kurk left until it's Carlyn's turn.

"You'll do great." I whisper to her as she stands up. She enters the room and the doors close behind her. Please let her do good. She's going to show them how good she is with a sling-shot. It won't be a particularly great skill to have in the games, but it'll show that she's good with aim. And tributes have not used sling-shots before, so it'll be something new for the Gamemakers, hopefully that will impress them enough to give her a decent score.

Not long after she entered she comes out of the room. She is shaking slightly from nerves but gives me a small nod anyways. I give her one last small smile before entering the room myself.

I don't wait to be told what to do, I just walk straight for the swords. Hopefully no one from District 5 has used a sword before, weapons aren't our strong suit. But for some reason I'm decent with a sword, so I'll use that to my advantage.

I turn to the dummy standing beside me, quickly I swing out at it and slash across it's chest. Then I swing low and cut its side, right near the ribs.

More dummies around me start moving. I spin and cut at them, the first one moves back but the tip of the sword makes contact with its arm, I slice at the second and cut its chest open. A third advances behind me and I duck down low and swing at its ankles. Without stopping I do a full spin and cut the ankles of another dummy.

I stand back up and put as much force behind my next swing as I can. The sword does a full 180 swing and slices the head off of a dummy.

I pause for a second, gaining control over the sword again. Then I slide the sword forward into the stomach of a dummy. Before I can do anything else the dummies stop moving.

"Thank you, you are done." The Head Gamemaker says. I yank the sword out of the dummy's stomach and lay it down on the table.

* * *

I sit with Carlyn on the large couch, the small girl cuddles into my side. The announcer starts with the scores, as always the Careers score really high. Gabby, who was suppose to partner with us but didn't, scores an eight, and Kurk scores a six. Which isn't bad.

My face appears on the screen behind the announcers and I feel Carlyn tense up.

"Russell Mossburg, from District 5, scores a NINE! Impressing the Gamemakers with quick weapons skills!"

I stare at the screen, my mouth a gap.

"Impressive!" Lex says, clapping me on the back. Carlyn pulls away from me so she can grin up at me. I smile back at her and nod toward the TV as her face appears on the screen.

"Carlyn Black, from District 5, scores a five! For her aim!"

"I told you." Lex says, clapping Carlyn on the back. I pull her in for a one armed hug. She just grins at the TV.

**Kyler POV**

It takes a long time for Mariana to be called into the room. Now only five of us sit in the small room waiting. By now the Gamemakers must be bored, they probably won't even watch as Mariana starts a fire quickly and identifies several plants.

It takes the full fifteen minutes for Mariana to exit the room. She gives me a small dramatic shrug as she walks by. I can't help but laugh a little and roll my eyes.

I enter the room and look around. Several weights sit over in the corner, but it'll be boring if I just sit over there and lift weights, there is no way the Gamemakers will care to sit and watch that.

"You may start." One of the Gamemakers says, the Head Gamemaker is busy reading over some papers.

"Is it possible to me to fight a real person?" I ask loudly. The Head Gamemaker looks up from his papers.

"No." One of the less important Gamemakers says.

"I'll allow it." The Head Gamemaker says, a slight smirk on his face. "Get some trainers out here." It takes a couple minutes, and I can feel the Gamemakers getting angrier with every second that ticks by, but eventually two trainers walk out, some padding on their knees and elbows.

"You may start." The Head Gamemaker says. Instantly the two trainers rush me. I'm sure the Gamemakers were expecting to see me be tackles to the ground, I'm sure they'd want to get a good laugh out of it later.

My instincts instantly kick in and I step quickly out of the way as the first trainer charges at me. The second is slower and I'm more prepared to fight. I spring into action, I stick my hands out right before he tackles me. His hands close around my shoulders as mine close around his. He had more momentum and I'm pushed to the ground quickly, but my grip is stronger than his and I'm able to hold him back. He goes to punch at my face but I let go with one hand and put my arm up, his wrist smacks into the lower part of my arm. A sharp pain moves up my arm but I'm able to adjust myself on my elbow.

Quickly I pull my knee up, it collides into his side. He lets out a grunt and I shove him off me so I can roll over. In seconds he's underneath me and I have the upper hand.

The other trainer rushed over to help. Quickly I put as much strength as I can into a punch and knock out the trainer below me. Up above I can hear some protest from the Gamemakers, but no one stops me and the other trainer is advancing, so I jump to my feet. The trainer goes to punch me but I duck under his arm, suddenly I'm behind him and he's behind me. But I'm quicker on my feet. I spin and on my heel and kick the back of his knee, he drops slightly and I push him down onto his knees. I grab his head in my hands and squeeze my fist tight.

I never actually planned on snapping his neck. Suddenly many alarms and whistles go off and Gamemakers are screaming at me to stop. I grin for a second as I let my hands fall. Then I drop the smile and turn to them.

"You may go." The Head Gamemaker says, he has a wide smile on his face. All the other Gamemakers are frantic and one comes rushing down the stairs to check on the man I left unconscious on the floor.

I grin again, unable to hide it. I impressed the guy who calls all the shots.

* * *

"What would you have done if they didn't stop you?" Mariana asks before popping a mint into her mouth.

"Don't know." I shrug. I didn't have a backup plan. All along I planned on them stopping me, but I wanted them to see that I was capable of snapping someone's neck. That was the best way I could think of doing it.

"What happened to the guy you knocked out?" Thaddeus asks. "I'm surprised they let you get away with that."

"No clue, they didn't stop me though." I say.

"Clearly they were impressed." Mariana says, "I'm going to guess a ten. You probably won't need my good looks and bubbly personallity to get sponsors doing stuff like that."

"We'll just get double the sponsors." I say, grinning. We make our way from the dining room to the couches. I sit down on the chase to stretch my legs out. Not two seconds later Mariana glides over and sits casually on my lap.

This is new.

She leans back on the armrest and rest her arm around my shoulders. What do I do with my hands now?

"Maybe you'll score an eleven!" Thaddeus says excitedly, "Sponsors will be pouring in. I knew you two were a great bunch of tributes from the start. Just knew it."

"Don't get your hopes up." I say, finally deciding to slide an arm casually behind Mariana's back and placing my hand on her side. She gives me a sly smile. Please don't let me be blushing.

Suddenly the announcers come on the screen. We all look at it, curious at to what the Gamemakers will do about my score. Unfortunately we have to wait a while for them to get to District 10. The highest score has been ten, scored by the District 1 male and District 4 male, both Careers. The lowest has been a three, by a sickly looking boy from District 9. Poor kid, he'll probably be killed in the bloodbath.

Mariana's picture appears on the screen. She sits up straight and stares anxiously at the screen.

"Mariana Turner, from District 10, scores a six! For her memory."

"Not bad." I tell her, she shrugs and leans back, adjusting herself so she now lays right beside me, her head resting in my chest. I scoot a little to the side to give her more room. My face appears on the screen. I'm sure Mariana can feel my heart beating quickly.

"Kyler Theodore, from District 10, scores... oh my gosh! An ELEVEN!" Then, as if we didn't hear him basically shout it the first time he repeats my score. Eleven! Mariana sits up quickly and claps her hands together, she turns to me. I still sit back, to stunned to do anything.

"I knew it!" Thaddeus says. I miss why they gave me the score, but it doesn't matter. All I can see is the shiny eleven spinning beside my picture. Mariana leans in quickly, to quickly for me to respond. Suddenly her lips are on mine.

As if my heart wasn't pounding enough before. She holds my head in her hands and pulls me in for the kiss. Just as I have time to react and reach for her she pulls away, beaming from ear to ear.

"You did it!" She says, I just nod slowly. She smiles then turns to lay her head on my chest again. A three spins beside the picture of the girl from District 11. I don't see the next two scores. Because all I can think about is the eleven and the kiss.

**Girly POV**

I'm the last tribute in the room. After alarms went off for the District 10 boy the other tributes have been in and out quickly. The longest being the boy from 11, only being inside for about five minutes. Rizon exits the room after two minutes. He looks pissed and sarcastically wishes me luck.

I walk into the room. The Gamemakers are all speaking to each other and moving around, not one of them looks at me. Most of them are hovering around a table reading over some papers.

"Simply can't do it!" One of them shouts.

I stand for a minute, do they not realize there is one tribute left?

"He knocked him out." One says. Who knocked who out?

A Gamemaker turns and see me. "You can start." He says, but instantly he turns his attention back to something else. Clearly they underestimate District 12 just like everyone else. Why did I expect any different?

I turn and look around at the materials they've provided for traps. I set to work at making a spear trap. The same one I learned to make on day one. I finish with about five minutes later and start to work on making a snare trap.

"You are done." I hear from above. I turn to look at the Gamemakers.

"W-what?" I ask.

"You may go." A Gamemaker repeats.

"I'm not done yet." I say. The Head Gamemaker turns from his papers and basically rolls his eyes at me.

"Finish up." He says. But his attention is finally on me. I turn back to make the snare trap. I'll have to do it quickly. I gather my materials and rush over to a beam stretched across the room. I toss the rope over it and star to make the trap.

I can still hear the Gamemakers above me talking, and I turn to see the Head Gamemaker is only glancing over at me occasionally. I finish making the trap and turn to them.

"Almost done." I call. A few of them turn to look at me. I grab the dummy I brought over with me and toss it at the snare trap. It closes around it's legs and pulls it upwards. Then I toss the fake animal into the spear trap, it pierces right through the animal.

"Thank you. You may go." The Head Gamemaker says.

* * *

The three of us sit quietly while the announcer tells us the scores. As always those from Districts 1, 2, and 4 score well. And even the girl from 3 and boy from 5 score within the Career rang.

By District 8 the scores have plummeted. Surprisingly the boy from District 10 has scored an eleven, which I believe is only the second or third time in thirty one years that a tribute scored an eleven.

"Rizon Sung, from District 12, scores a two." The announcer says, he doesn't even give a reason why.

"Because the Gamemakers were so focused on their stupid papers to watch me." Rizon growls.

"Girly Matlock, from District 12, scores a seven!"

"How'd you manage that?" Rizon asks, clearly shocked.

"I just made sure they watched." I said. "I seem to have that effect on people."

"What effect?" Suzy Zyn ask.

"Getting people to do what I want." I say. "It's how I get away with so much."

"Clearly it works." Rizon says. "I needed you there when they ignored me. I even asked them to watch and they didn't even glance my way."

I shrug. I've always had to talk my way out of things. I'm sure there are several times back in District 12 where Peacekeepers were suppose to punish me, but I always got them to let me go and not say anything about what I did.


	9. Chapter 9 - Interviews

**AN: Next chapter will be the Bloodbath! I have to make a few changes to it. I didn't plan on the romance between Kyler and Mariana but it just sort of happened while I was writing, therefore I need to change Kyler's part of the Bloodbath. But it will be up within the next couple days hopefully! Please read and review, any feedback is welcome! **

**Interviews**

**Gabriella Dutch POV**

The crowd goes insane for Districts 1 and 2, the Careers always get the best applause, in just a moment I'll be revealing that I too, will be a Career. I just have to prove myself to them first. They just won't be expecting my blind-side.

Panera announces my name, and I step onto the stage. Suddenly my clear skirt makes me feel really naked. My skirt is made of a permanently wavy plastic material with blue frost like swirls on it. Completely see through to my shiny silver body suit that hardly covers my butt and stretches up to my shoulders.

The crowd claps, clearing impressed with this ridiculous outfit. I'm not stunningly pretty, not like some of the other girls. But non-the-less, the guys in the crowd are impressed.

I take a seat next to Panera, my skirt not giving much and making me very uncomfortable.

"Gabriella Dutch, from District 3. Tell me, what were your first thoughts when your name was picked from that reaping bowl."

"I was scared." I say.

"I'm sure, I'm sure." Panera says, as if she understands. "What are your thoughts now?"

"I'm not scared anymore." I say simply. Panera gives me an intrigued look, telling me to explain why. "I have an alliance now, I good one."

"Ohh... an alliance! How fun! Can you tell me who is in this alliance?" She asks it like it'll be just a secret between me and her. As if whatever we say won't be broadcasted for all of Panem to see.

I grin and start listing off names: "Nikko, Lilith, Dune." Now the crowd is already impressed, and a couple are already cheering. They now know I'm a Career. "Lizzie, Luka, and Belle."

"My, my!" Panera says, clearing impressed that I've managed to get into such a tight knit group. "That is a great alliance! I see why you aren't scared anymore!"

"Not at all. I'm sure our deal will work out in everyone's favor." The crowd simultaneously _oohhhs. _Now everyone will wonder what our deal is. I won't tell. They'll see tomorrow morning.

"I'm sure! Now that you are a Career, that must mean you are willing to do anything to go home. Yes?"

"Yes, ma'am. My family is the most important thing to me. I have several little siblings, I must get home to them." The crowd acts like their hearts are breaking for me. But their hearts aren't breaking, they love it. They love that I have a family back home who is suffering. That's just motivation for me to give them more action. Well, they will get it.

"How exciting!" Panera says, clapping a little and bouncing in her seat. "So, before you go, can you tell us all just a little about yourself? Any special boy back home... any special boy here?" Gossip, it's all about the gossip.

"You know, a boy just isn't what I'm focused on right now." The crowd boos me, but I can tell it's all in good fun. "When I get home, I'm sure I'll find someone special." I think for a second, what will make the Capitol happy. "Then _everyone _will be invited to our wedding!"

The crowd claps and cheers. I smile out at them, feeling ridiculous. My buzzer sounds.

"Thank you Gabriella Dutch!" Panera says, standing up. I stand and we give each other a quick hug. I exit the stage quickly, passing Zeke on my way. I try to give him an encouraging smile, but he doesn't even look at me.

I make my way to the waiting room. The mentors and other tributes who have already had their interviews are scattered across the room. I spot Cruise and Westyn sitting over in the corner watching Kurk on a small TV. I walk over to join them. Westyn gives me a small glance as I sit down but then returns to watching the interview.

"What can we expect to see from you in the arena, Kurk?" Panera asks him.

Kurk is dressed in a silver metallic suit. The lights up above the stage shine off him and glare all around.

"Just everything my mentor has been training me. I can't give too much away, but I have a strong swing." The crowd cheers for him. I can't help but smile. I'm sure he's talking about an ax, that's the weapon both Cruise and Westyn used to win their games. Which surprised everyone, being we are from a District with computers and stuff.

"Interesting!" Panera chimes. "So, are you going to go through these games alone? Or do you have an alliance?"

"I'm in an alliance." Kurk says, he does a really good job at sounding bored, like the whole game is beneath him. I'm sure this was Cruise's doing.

"Can you tell me who? I'm _dying _to know!"

"The tributes from District 5." Again, very casual. Some people in the crowd clap and other's seemed shocked.

"Wonderful!" Panera chimes, "Just wonderful!" Kurk's buzzer sounds and Panera thanks him for being there. Not even a minute later he is walking back to join us. I sit and watch as Cruise and Westyn tell him good job and pat him on the back. Again, they don't even look at me.

**Russell Mossburg POV**

Carlyn goes right before me, in a simple black dress with white zig-zags printed around the bottom. She plays her part well, a quiet girl without much talent. Someone who will need protecting. She even glances back toward where I stand and wait, as if she is calling out for help right now. I can't help but grin at her act.

Soon she is off the stage, leaving the audience a little heartbroken. Now it's my turn to go pick up the pieces. I walk confidently onto the stage.

Panera stands to great me and I shake her hand. Once seated the crowd sits quietly, waiting to see what Panera's first question will be.

"Russell Mossburg, from District 5, how are you liking the Capitol?" She asks with a smile.

"I don't want to leave." I say, laughing slightly. "It's so exciting here."

"Isn't it?" Another smile, "How have you been doing in training? A score of nine is very impressive!"

"Well, you know I can't say much. No more than you already know." I smile.

"Of course, of course. But a nine for _weapon skills_, we've seen impressive scores that before in the games-" The crowd cheers, cutting her off. She waits patiently then continues. "-but not normally from District 5."

"It's a skill I'm glad I found." I say, "Along with many other skills I discovered during training."

"How interesting!" Panera chimes. "I can't wait to see what all your skills are!"

"I'm glad you are interested. They'll differently help Carlyn and myself."

"I'm sure Carlyn will appreciate that!" The crowd claps, approving. "It takes a strong tribute to help someone so young."

"She's a sweet kid." I say. "She could do fine without me if she truly tried. I just think the younger kids don't have enough confidence in themselves." The crowd claps again.

"I agree." She says it so dramatically, clapping her hands down on her lap and leaning forward. Then quickly she throws her hands in the air! "Tell me about yourself!"

"Well..." I say, not really wanting to let all of Panem know about me, "I'm stronger than I look. And smarter. I'm very protective of my family, which is quite large."

"Oh, another tribute from a large family! How wonderful!" Panera interrupts. "How many siblings do you have?"

"All of their names are on my necklace." I tell her, pulling the woven necklace Grandpa gave me out from under my shirt. Panera scoots forward on her seat to examine it. She oohhs and aahhs.

"Ethan, Gigi, Joyce, and Ulysses." She reads quietly. I nod my head then tuck the necklace quickly back under my shirt. "That is quiet a large family. And you are the oldest?"

"Yes." I say, not wanting to talk anymore. Then, luckily, my buzzer sounds. Panera thanks me and sends me off the stage.

**Kyler Theodore POV**

Mariana glides out onto the stage in her short brown dress. Her hair is pulled up onto the top of her head and her eyes are surrounded in glitter. The crowd claps politely for her, not truly aware of just how wonderful she is.

She hugs Panera enthusiastically then sits lightly down on the seat, crossing her legs and keeping her back straight and head held high. Mariana speaks in a simple light voice, and just during the first couple questions she has the crowd laughing lightly. Clearly she has them wrapped around her finger.

Panera moves on quickly to more personal questions, seeing as everyone in the crowd clearly wants to know more about Mariana's life than her fighting skills.

"I am so jealous of you!" Panera says. "Such a lovely girl! You must have boys lining up to date you!"

"It's not as pleasing as you may think." Mariana says, "I never get time to myself. Especially at school!" The crowd laughs along, but Panera plays the role of not believing Mariana.

"There must be something wonderful about all the boys!" She says.

"I never have to buy my own lunch, and I never have to carry my own books!" Mariana says happily. "And then there is, of course, the kissing." Somehow she manages to blush slightly when saying it. But the crowd laughs and cheers for her.

"So, any special boy currently in your life?"

"Yes." Mariana says, but before she can say anything else there are cheers from the women in the crowd and groans of disappointment from men in the crowd.

"What's this lucky boys name? I'm sure you can keep him forever once you win the games and get home!" Panera says. Mariana hesitates on answering.

"I meet him after the reaping." She says, a hint of sadness in her voice. "The only time we'll have together, will be in the arena." She looks down at her lap and twist her fingers together.

There is a wave of disappointment and heartbreak in the crowd. But Panera is quick to think and gets the crowd excited again.

"At least there will be some romance this year! Some of us get very disappointed when not a single tribute even shows signs of romance!" There are murmurs of agreement in the crowd. Mariana's buzzer sounds, and suddenly I realize it's my turn. I hold my breath and wait for Mariana to exit the stage. She makes sure her hands brushes mine as she walks by. I give her a weak smile then walk onto the stage. Before Panera can even finish announcing my name the crowd starts cheering and clapping, even a few of them stand up from their seats. I sit down in the seat, my head buzzing and my heart pounding.

"Someone is well liked!" Panera says. "I can only guess why! With a _very _impressive score of _eleven! _How did you do it?" She asks.

"Don't know." I say, hoping my voice isn't shaky. "I'm just a good fighter."

"Well, you must have done something _pretty _impressive to score an eleven. That score is never given just for the heck of it."

"Well, I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say..." I hesitate, wondering if I should say it, "But they had to sound the alarms when I was showing them my skill." The entire crowd gasps. But Panera hopes up and down in her seat slightly.

"How exciting! Oh goodness! What a show this will be! I'm sure the other tributes want you as their ally." She says.

"I'm only allying with Mariana." I say. I can basically feel the excitement rise in the crowd, all of them are suddenly wondering if I'm the guy Mariana was just wondering about. Panera is excited, she hopes in her seat and claps her hands together, her mouth open and eyes shining.

"A score of eleven _and _that wonderful young lady! Kyler, I believe you will be the one to watch this year! Oh my goodness!" The crowd cheers and I can feel my heart beating loudly again. I have to keep reminding myself that this is good, the more the crowd likes me the more sponsors I can get.

"I am." I say with a small smile, trying to talk over the crowd.

"Never, in my 31 years of being host, have I been so excited to see a tribute enter that arena!"

"Thank you." I say. My buzzer sounds, and as I stand up Panera pulls me in for a hug, then she gives me two quick kisses, one on each cheek. I have to control myself so I don't run off the stage.

**Girly Matlock POV**

I have to wait a long time until it's my turn to go onto the stage, so far all the tributes have done a good job at impressing the crowd. Hopefully I can too. Rizon wishes me luck as I step away from him and onto the stage. There is some clapping from the crowd, but no one is nearly as excited as they were for earlier tributes.

I adjust my shoulders so they stay pushed back, my strapless pink dress itches under my arms and my feet hurt form the two inch heels. But I push all of that out of my mind and focus on being the tribute they'd never expect form District 12.

I sit down on the chair across from Panera's. She smiles at me and waits a few seconds for the crowd to stop cheering.

"Girly Matlock, how have you been enjoying the Capitol?" She asks with a wide smile.

"It's crowded." I say simply. Panera laughs lightly.

"Of course it is! Do you like your dress?"

"No." I say stubbornly. Panera gives me a questioning look.

"Why not? It's very beautiful!"

"It's not very practical. At least not for me. Tomorrow morning I'm going to be fighting for my life. I have no need for a dress like this." I say. Panera nods her head, like she understands.

"Well, non-the-less, you are very pretty in that dress." She says. The crowd claps. "So, I must say, when I saw your score I was surprised. I believe a seven is the highest score in District 12 ever."

I nod my head, "It is, I'm very proud of my score. Of course it's not as great as an eleven, as one tribute has scored, but at least it shows I have a chance." The crowd claps again.

"You seem very confident! How did you get this score?"

"I found something very unique that I'm good at." I say, "I'll just need the supplies in order to show just what that is." I say, hoping that as soon as I'm in the arena and out of the bloodbath I can get supplies for my traps from sponsors.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to get those supplies." Panera says, winking at the camera. Good, she's on my side. "So, what did you think when you were reaped? You seemed a little scared."

"Of course I was." I say, why would I pretend I wasn't. "But not really for myself, but for my grandparents."

"Why is that?" Panera asks.

"They need me. Both of them are all alone at home, stuck in bed unable to walk. I take care of them. As soon as my name was called I knew there'd be no one there for them. I can only hope that someone has checked in on them since I've been gone." The crowd seems upset with this. They like to ignore the poverty and hardship in the Districts.

"I'm sure someone has. But when you make it home they'll get all the care they need!" Panera says.

"That's the plan." I say simply.

"How wonderful! So young and doing all of this for her grandparents." Panera says, "But we are almost out of time! I hope to see you special skill in the arena, Miss Girly Matlock." We stand and she hugs me goodbye and sends me off the stage. The crowd claps lightly. Hopefully I impressed someone willing to sponsor me.


	10. Chapter 10 - Bloodbath

**AN: I decided not to change Kyler's part too much. He's part is probably my favorite and I don't want to change it just to make the romance part fit, I'll make fit it in later. Anyways, enjoy this chapter! **

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**The Bloodbath**

**Girly POV**

Claustrophobia takes over and I can't breathe, the tube doesn't leave me much room to move, and as it rises out of the room there is nothing but darkness. I start to shake and sweat, I can't be in this tube any longer.

Keep calm. Keep calm.

Suddenly it's not dark anymore, and the sun is shining off the white snow that lays everywhere. I squint, and quickly scan the scene around me. I'm no longer in the tube, I'm above ground on one of the pedestals. Twenty-four of us stand in a semi-circle, in front of us is a giant ice sculpture, stuck in the sculpture is weapons. Swords, knives, a couple axes, some arrows, and other pointy objects that slice easily into the ice. Backpacks are lined up against the sculpture. There is nothing in easy reach, and if a tribute wants something useful, they will have to go to the sculpture to get it.

Fighting, nothing but fighting, that's what the Gamemakers want. That's what the Capitol wants to see.

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2.

Suddenly there is an explosion to my left, and the shock makes me almost fall off my own pedestal. There is screaming. I'm afraid to look to my left, but I do. Five pedestals away there is a giant hole in the ground, the tributes closest to it are covered in blood.

"No!" The scream comes from my left, and I realize most of us have missed the gong, the explosion making us forget about the weapons in the Cornucopia. But some of the tributes got to the weapons, and they are now attacking those of us who have stayed on our pedestals. One of the Careers advances on me. Swinging a double blade ax above his head. I dive out of the way, but the ax cuts my arm.

I hold back a scream of pain and jump to my feet, I sprint toward the Cornucopia. Blood trailing behind me on the white snow. I snatch up a backpack and reach for a knife stuck into the ice. I pull on it but it's stuck. I grab it with both hands and pull, but the cut on my arm hurts, making it difficult to pull back on the weapon.

Ice shatters around me, and I realize a very large knife has been thrown into the ice just above my head. Two inches lower and I'd be dead. I stand and grab the large knife, it's not as lodged into the ice as the smaller knife, then I run away from the Cornucopia, trying my hardest to ignore the red snow around me.

**Russ POV**

Luckily I was on the other side of the semi-circle from the explosion. It was the boy from District 7. He stepped off only a second too soon, but he broke the rules, resulting in him being the first death of the 31st Annual Hunger Games.

The explosion is a distraction, and none of us can hear the gong sound. But the Careers didn't let the explosion faze them, and they took off when the countdown showed zero. I sprint after them a second later. The cornucopia is insane, it isn't like any other cornucopia I've seen. It's a giant ice sculptor. It doesn't seem to be a certain shape, but it's large with jagged edges. I reach for a sword that have been driven into the ice. I tug at them, but it won't come out. Instantly I move onto the next weapons, a couple daggers. These come out easily.

A backpack lays two feet away, and I rush over to it.

"Russ!" Carlyn's shriek isn't far away. I snap my head up to see her cowering behind a snow covered log, one of the tributes throwing knives at her.

I bolt toward the tribute. I'm going to have to kill him. The snow muffles my running, so he doesn't even realize I'm coming. I plow into him, knocking my shoulder into his back. My shoulder is in instant pain, but that doesn't matter. Because now he's trying to get off of his stomach and stab me. I hold one of the daggers in my right hand, and with my left hand I grab his hair and pull his head up harshly.

Quickly I slide the dagger across his neck. Warm blood pours onto my frozen hands. The boy goes limp and I know he's dead. Carlyn stares at me from behind her log. I rush over to her, I search for Kurk, but I don't see him anywhere.

"Let's go." I say to Carlyn, a grab her hand and we run away quickly.

**Kyler POV**

I realize quickly that we are on a mountain. Behind me jagged rocks climb upward toward the sky, to my right is a large cliff that drops downward very quickly. The Cornucopia is sitting on the only flat ground around, even the cluster of pine trees nearby slope downward and out of sight.

I find Mariana, she's only four pedestals away. I follower her eye line and see she's planning on going for the grey backpack with a knife strapped to it. It's a good pick, but the boy from 7 seems to be focused on that backpack too.

I keep my eyes on the boy, I'll have to keep him back so Mariana can get the backpack.

I steady myself and get ready to tackle the boy. 5. 4. 3. 2.

He steps off his pedestal. The explosion is loud and bright. Mariana screams as she is almost knocked off her own pedestal. Once the explosion is settled I realize Mariana is covered in dirt and the boy's blood. But she doesn't let it faze her long, because a few seconds later she sprints toward the backpack.

I rush forward too.

The Career boy from 2 holds a mace. My heart drops as he bolts toward me. I sprint at an angle, hoping to outrun him, but he's a faster than I am, I'm going to have to fight him.

Right before he reaches me he swings the mace in a wide circle, I hold my breath timing everything perfectly. Only a couple away from me. I duck, the mace swings over my back and my shoulder plows into he's stomach. We are on the ground in less than a second, but his fist is already slamming into my head. My ears ring and my vision blurs. But I'm on top, so I have the upper hand. Bracing myself for the pain I slam forehead down onto his chin. It takes him a second to recover and I plow my fist straight down onto his nose. I feel it crack under my knuckles and warm blood flows onto my hand.

I punch him again, making sure he is knocked out. I look around for the mace, it lays beside us. I snatch it up, planning on swinging it down onto his head several times. But before I get the chance the District 4 girl sees me, most tributes have left the fighting, so now only a few stragglers and Careers are around. The girl lifts her spear and aims it right at me.

I don't have time to kill the boy, so I grab the closest bag I can and jump to my feet. The only way I can go is down the cliff, there is a small path zigzagging downwards. Either I can stay here and die, or rush down the small pathway and only possibly die. Not having time to weigh my options I rush toward the cliff.

**Gabby POV**

The bloodbath is over quickly, the last couple tributes who aren't Careers are the girl from 9, who is seriously injured and will die any minute, and the boy from 10, who almost killed Dune but is now rushing down the cliff. He'll probably fall and die.

I didn't get a kill, I barley did anything in the bloodbath, I got a few knives and a backpack and stood around, watching the horrific sight around me. Now nine tributes lay dead on the ground. My minutes are ticking away.

"Nine!" Nikko shouts after he does a quick count before rushing over to Dune to wake him up. Instantly he turns to me. "Who did you kill?" He asks.

"No one." I say casually. Lilith glances my way, a smirk on her face. I'm sure she'd love to drive that knife she holds through my heart. After all, I haven't upheld my end of the deal yet. Right about now Cruise and Westyn are probably cursing me, telling me I'm the biggest idiot ever.

"No one?" Nikko asks. Kicking Dune on the foot, wondering if he's dead.

"Not yet." I say as we all gather around Dune's unconscious body.

"Not yet? The deal was kill at least one tribute in the Bloodbath." He says, turning to me and holding his knife out.

I take a deep breath, I'll probably be dead in a second.

I clinch my fist tight around the small knife. Belle is standing on the other side of the circle from me. I slowly loosen my grip, then I pull my arm back, swinging forward I let go of the knife, aiming the best I can, hoping the knife hits its mark.

The knife penetrates into her chest. She gasps and falls quickly to her knees. A trickle of blood coming from her mouth seconds later.

"Belle!" Lizzie screams. But I don't have time to see what happens next, because Nikko punches my face. I stagger to the side as pain shoots through my jaw. Right then the cannons start to go off.

_Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. _

Ten. Ten cannons. Does that mean I killed her?

"What the hell did you just do!?" Nikko shouts as he shoves me back. I don't fight back, I just let him push me around. I try to keep my voice even and calm.

"I got my kill." I say.

"That _wasn't _the deal." He shoves me so forcefully that I'm pushed off my feet and into the snow.

"Let me kill her!" Lilith screams, I sit up to see she's rushing over to me. But Nikko reaches out and grabs her arm, stopping her.

"Dutch, you just put yourself into a world of hurt. We aren't going to kill her, Lilith. She'll just wish she was dead." Nikko growls. My heart starts pounding. I can still run if needed. I do have a backpack on my back for this very reason.

"Who's turning back on deals now?" I ask, slowly standing up on my feet. "I kept my end of the deal. I got one kill. That's it. If you turn on me you'll be the one breaking the deal." I hope my voice isn't shaking from cold and fear.

"We never said you could kill another Career!" Nikko shouts.

"You never said I couldn't!" I shout back. This makes him pause a minute.

It seems to work, Nikko isn't happy about it. I know because he spits at my feet. But he doesn't say anything else and turns from me and turns his focus to Dune, who has slowly been waking up.

"Get him some bandages." He says to no one in particular, "and we need to move over to that cave and get out of this cold. Someone can start chipping away at the ice to get the larger weapons out."

I don't wait to be told what to do. I just march straight over to the Cornucopia and start slamming my knife into it, shards of ice break away and scatter onto my face, giving me small cuts. But it's better than what the Careers could have done to me. I know they can't see me, and I can't help but grin to myself as Lilith shouts threats my way.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Capitols' Bets

**AN: I'm going to be trying something new in this story. Hopefully it works well. Instead of only chapters about the tributes in the arena I'm going to use Lex as the eyes and ears of what Capitol citizens are thinking. Any Lex chapters probably won't be that long, being they'll just be from his POV only, but I'd like to give a little insight to what the Capitol thinks about this year's games.**

* * *

**The Capitols' Bets **

**Lex Grovenstin's POV**

I sit watching the games in my own private room. The bloodbath is, well, bloody. I'm really shocked that Russ was one of the tributes to kill in the bloodbath. Hopefully when I go asking for sponsors soon that will help.

The announcer of this year's games, Azaz Hornsby, sits on half of the screen, while the other half is playbacks of what just happened. Azaz gives us a more detailed "play by play."

"Placing 24th was Bryce Horne, from District 7, sadly he didn't have much of a chance to show us his skills, as he stepped off that pedestal just a second to early." Azaz says it like it's suppose to be a sad thing, but I can hear the excitement in his voice. Beside him on the screen is a slow motion replay of the explosion, I for one have to look away at this. For the tributes standing around him, they must be scrubbing themselves clean right now.

"Placing 23rd was Simon King, from District 6. Nikko Rushland, our District 1 male, had the advantage on this kill, being Simon was still recovering from the shock of the blast and hadn't even left his pedestal yet. Placing 22nd was Moth Corner from District 9, killed by the one and only Lilith Inkheart, that girl has some skill with her knives! Let's give a special shout out to Girly Matlock from District 12, she surprised us all by narrowly escaping death not once, but _twice _during the bloodbath!"

Images of the girl appear, the show replays her diving out of the way as one of the Careers swings and ax at her, she was cut, but still managed to run away. The screen flips to her getting weapons, the District 7 male threw a knife at her, but he missed. Meaning Girly Matlock is now the first ever District 12 tribute to avoid death twice.

"Placing 21st was Rose Men, the other District 9 tribute. Even though Belle didn't have a spear, like I'm sure she'd love to have, she still killed the girl easily with a machete. Placing 20th was Derk Bobasor from District 8, Dune Perry will be taking credit for this kill. In 19th is Freddie Barns, from District 11. This, to me, was a surprising kill. His throat was slit by District 5's Russell Mossburg! I wasn't sure what to make of his score when I saw it was a nine, but I must say he is a fighter."

I flip the TV off, not caring to see anything else. The sixth kill, Russ managed to get the 6th kill of the game. Surely there will be some people willing to sponsor him.

I throw my vest one and walk into the hall, other mentors are coming from their rooms, I spot Hazel Shell, from District 4.

"That was a shocking turns of events." I say to her. She gives me a death glare, I throw my hands up defensively, luckily Gabby isn't my tribute. I'll have to remind Cruise to stand clear of Hazel for awhile.

Once out on the street I'm able to find a scoring board, they are set up all around the Capitol, as bets are put in the tributes with sponsors are on the board. At the top is the tribute with the most bets on them then the bottom is the tribute with the least amount of bets, beside that is the Gamemakers say on the probability of that tribute winning. Because of this names shuffle around the board a lot.

I stand reading the board:

**1) Nikko Rushland (D1) - 1/24**

**2) Luka Burch (D4) - 3/24**

**3) Kyler Theodore (D10) - 2/24**

**4) Gabriella Dutch (D3) - 7/24**

**5) Lilith Inkheart (D1) - 4/24**

**6) Lizzie Nicksay (D2) - 5/24**

**7) Mariana Turner (D10) - 9/24**

**8) Dune Perry (D2) - 6/24**

**9) Russell Mossburg (D5) - 8/24**

**10) Caroline Beeth (D7) - 10/24**

**11) Kurk Elliot (D3) - 11/24**

**12) Girly Matlock (D12) - 12/24**

**13) Carlyn Black (D5) - 13/24**

**14) Haley Knoxville (D6) - 14/24**

Russ is ninth on the betting board, and the Gamemakers think he has a 8 in 24 chance of winning. I scan the board again, the girl from ten, the one who was charming her way through the interview, has more bets than Russ. And little Carlyn is thirteenth on the board, she probably doesn't have a signal bet.

"Gabriella should have a higher chance of winning." A lady dressed in a ridicules bright orange dress beside me says, I turn to her. "Oh, oh my gosh! You're Lex Grovenstin! I'm so sorry!" She turns back to the board, scanning it quickly. "Russell should as well." She adds.

"Well, Gabriella isn't playing a very smart game, backstabbing the Careers like that." I say to the woman, "They could turn on her in a second. I'm surprised they already haven't. I'd place her down toward a 10 or 11 out of 24 chance of winning."

The orange dressed woman stares at me, her mouth slightly a gap.

"And Kyler Theodore seems pretty love drunk to me," I continue, "He might do something stupid to save Mariana. No way he has a 2 in 24 chance of winning. With that logic Mariana should be higher on the chart than he is, he'll probably hand her first place if he could. And Lilith, I've personally seen tributes like her. She's too cocky. Something simple will be what kills her, she probably hasn't done any studying on foods to eat or how to survive in the snow. She'll be dead in a few days."

I let that sink in for a second.

"Now my tributes, Russ and Carlyn, I've made sure they know all about the cold climate, we spent several hours alone on what to do if the arena is frozen. And Russ, well he has a skill for killing. He doesn't hesitate, as I'm sure you saw in the bloodbath." The orange dressed woman starts nodding her head in agreement. These Capitol people are so easily persuaded sometimes. "The only problem is, people underestimate him, so I'm sure the other tributes do as well. He could easily sneak up on them at night and kill them, making he's odds of winning go up. I'd just love to see him have to supplies in order to do that." I say.

"Wow, you know, you are right." The woman says, "I _must _tell my friends not to bet their money on Gabriella." Before I can say anything else the woman rushes off.

"Fight!" Someone yells. The crowd moves toward the giant jumbo screen above the square. I turn toward it too, and see that Russ and Carlyn are on the screen. Crap.


End file.
